By FRANCO PANIZO
It seems all England national teams have something common: penalty kicks are their kryptonite.
England's women's national team was bounced out of the World Cup after losing 4-3 on penalty kicks to France after a 1-1 draw in a quarterfinal match on Saturday. England had the lead entering the fourth round of penalty kicks, but saw its last two shots from Claire Rafferty and Faye White go painfully wide and high, respectively.
England initially took the lead in the 59th minute with a goal from Jill Scott. France responded, however, two minutes before the death on a goal from Elise Bussaglia. That, and a scoreless 30 minutes of overtime, set the stage for penalty kicks, where Eugenie Le Sommer hit the eventual game-winning spot kick.
France will play the winner of Sunday's United States-Brazil match in the semifinals.
The other team to advance to the semis was Japan, which upset Germany, 1-0, in overtime on Saturday. Germany was held scoreless through 90 minutes, and Japan's Karina Maruyama eliminated the tournament hosts with a goal in the 108th minute.
Japan will play either Sweden or Australia in the semifinals.
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What do you think of England losing to France? What do the Three Lions need to do to cure their penalty kick disease? Surprised Japan beat Germany?
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