It was not meant to be. England crashed out of yet another tournament following more penalty heartbreak, with the Three Lions exiting the World Cup after losing 2-1 to France following Harry Kane's late spot-kick miss.
Kane had scored earlier from the penalty spot, netting 54 minutes in to cancel out Aurelien Tchouameni's stunning first-half strike, and England looked the better side for long periods of the quarter-final against the world champions. But France are the World Cup holders for a reason, and Olivier Giroud's clinical header off a devilish Antoine Griezmann cross restored the lead for Les Bleus with 12 minutes of normal time remaining.
Mason Mount was clumsily fouled by Theo Hernandez with six minutes to go, but Kane - facing Tottenham team-mate Hugo Lloris - could only sky his second penalty of the game over the bar, with England unable to find another equaliser.
