England exit World Cup LIVE: Referee criticised after ‘nightmare’ as Harry Kane accepts penalty blame

England are heading home with their World Cup 2022 dream all over, following Saturday night’s 2-1 defeat to France. Harry Kane scored one penalty to equalise after Aurelien Tchouameni’s opener, but after Olivier Giroud put Les Bleus back in front, Kane spurned his second chance from the spot to send the Three Lions crashing out at the quarter-final stage.

The England captain was distraught after the game and accepted responsibility for the miss, but his manager Gareth Southgate backed his striker for big performances along the way. The head coach did, however, stop short of clarifying his own future with the team, saying time was needed before any decisions.

Meanwhile, the referee’s performance was criticised and fans of the England team appeared to alter his Wikipedia page in response to his performance.

Follow the reaction to England’s World Cup exit and all the latest news on Qatar 2022 below:

Latest news and reaction as England exit World Cup

• England lose to France in World Cup quarter-final

• Harry Kane takes responsibility after missing late penalty

• Gareth Southgate refuses to commit future as head coach

• Referee hammered after ‘nightmare’ showing in England vs France

England exit World Cup - latest news LIVE

09:55 , Karl Matchett

The England vs France referee was labelled “a joke” by Gary Neville with heavy criticism coming in for Brazilian official Wilton Sampaio.

The Three Lions’ first gripe came during the first half in the build-up to the opening World Cup quarter-final goal for Les Bleus.

Bukayo Saka protested for a foul after Dayot Upamecano’s challenge, but play continued, with Aurélien Tchouaméni soon breaking the deadlock.

Sampaio did award two penalties for England, the second of which following a VAR review. The first spot kick was dispatched by Kane before a second was blazed high over the bar, proving crucial as England were eliminated.

But the defeat comes with extensive criticism for Sampaio, with Neville tweeting: “Ref is a joke!”

He continued on ITV after the game: “I thought he had an absolute nightmare, a joke of a referee. He was just a bad referee, rank bad.”

More here as commentators and onlookers alike hammer the Brazilian ref:

‘Ref is a joke!’: England vs France referee slammed by Gary Neville

England exit World Cup - latest news LIVE

09:45 , Karl Matchett

Kyle Walker dropped his head, opened his lungs and ran. This was exactly the type of run he was in the team to make, a fast-twitch surge the length of the field to recover his position, and yet he knew this was a race already lost. Kylian Mbappe hadn’t followed him back into deep French territory, and now Mbappe had the ball, and he was dribbling, and Walker had left his station unattended.

It hadn’t started this way. France kicked off and immediately switched the ball to Mbappe advancing down the wing where Walker met him with a crunch. As France settled on the ball in the opening forays, Mbappe lurked on the fringes, flitting in and out with little steps of deception as Walker stood warily a few yards inside, glancing coquettishly over his shoulder, the two of them conducting their own dance away from the rest.

Lawrence Ostlere in Doha on Kylian Mbappe being the world’s greatest decoy:

Kylian Mbappe is the world’s best decoy as Kyle Walker wins battle but loses war

England exit World Cup - latest news LIVE

09:35 , Karl Matchett

Gareth Southgate did not commit to staying with England beyond the World Cup following their quarter-final defeat to France and said he will need “time” to reflect on his future.

The England manager accepted his team had missed an opportunity against the defending champions, who progressed to the semi-finals after Harry Kane missed a late penalty to equalise and send the match to extra time.

Southgate’s contract runs until the end of the European Championships in 2024 and the England manager said he will take “time to reflect” on the Qatar tournament before making a decision on his future.

Southgate led England to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and then the final of Euro 2020 last summer but the Three Lions had been set the target of winning the World Cup this month.

Gareth Southgate refuses to commit to England future after World Cup exit

England exit World Cup - latest news LIVE

09:25 , Karl Matchett

Harry Kane says the England players want Gareth Southgate to stay and love having him as manager, after the 2-1 quarter-final defeat to France at the World Cup.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward similarly added that he would take the second penalty again and took full responsibility for his miss - which saw England squander a second chance to equalise - saying that it came “purely down to execution”.

“I’m someone who prepares to take one or two penalties in the same game,” he added. “So I can’t blame my preparation.

“I felt as confident in the second as in the first, but it was 100% the execution. It’s my fault. Obviously it hurts now and it will hurt for a while, but it’s part of being the captain and leader of the team. You have to take responsibility and I take it today.”

More from Kane here on his penalty - and on the England manager Gareth Southgate:

‘It’s my fault’: Harry Kane discusses penalty miss after England exit World Cup

England exit World Cup - latest news LIVE

09:15 , Karl Matchett

England are out of the World Cup after Harry Kane missed a late penalty in a heartbreaking defeat to defending champions France.

England were offered a lifeline to cancel out Olivier Giroud’s header when Theo Hernandez barged into Mason Mount in the box but Kane, who had already beaten Hugo Lloris from the spot, blazed his effort over the bar as England’s World Cup ended in heartbreaking disappointment.

Here are how the players rated from the quarter-final.

England vs France player ratings as Harry Kane misses penalty in heartbreaking defeat

England exit World Cup - latest news LIVE

09:07 , Karl Matchett

Like so many times before but, really, in a totally different way. England ultimately go out of an international tournament after a missed penalty from a star, but this wasn’t a shoot-out, and it wasn’t a case of Gareth Southgate’s side getting outclassed in midfield. It wasn’t even a player of Kylian Mbappe’s class scorching them.

Instead, England were arguably the superior side in this 2-1 defeat to the French, who still remain world champions. Southgate’s team had chances that were as good. They had some of the better play.

They just didn’t have much luck, or – if you want to be harsh on the referee, which many will – some of the core decisions.

And that meant that the biggest chance of all – the opportunity to eliminate the highest class of side in a key game – wasn’t taken either. The reassurance will be that England made them look far inferior to that in a fine performance. The reality that matters most is that they again went out at the quarter-final stage.

Last night’s match report from Miguel Delaney in Doha:

England out of World Cup after defeat to France in quarter-final

England exit World Cup - latest news LIVE

09:05 , Karl Matchett

Good morning and welcome to the Independent’s World Cup reaction live blog after England bowed out at the last-eight stage.

The Three Lions were beaten by France on Friday night, leaving Didier Deschamps’ side to progress to face Morocco in the semi-finals, with Argentina against Croatia the other fixture in the last four.

We’ve got all the news and latest reaction coming up as England head home from Qatar.