The last of the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals take place on Saturday evening as England meet France at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. Two of the pre-tournament favorites come face to face as they battle it out for a spot in the semi-finals, where a clash against either Morocco or Portugal awaits. Below is our England vs France preview, predictions and potential lineups for their World Cup quarter-final encounter in Qatar.
England vs France Preview
Two heavyweights will go head-to-head in a blockbuster of a quarter-final as Gareth Southgate and Didier Deschamps lock horns. England and France both sailed into the last eight, topping their respective groups and easing past their round of 16 opponents.
The Three Lions were in cruise control against Senegal, recording a comfortable 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka. Les Bleus knocked out Robert Lewandowski’s Poland with a 3-1 win as Kylian Mbappe scored a brace to take his tally for the tournament up to five. A much tougher task is ahead for either side this time around.
Although England remain unbeaten, question marks have been raised over the quality of opposition that they have faced and France will now pose an incredibly more difficult task. France, on the other hand, have suffered a defeat this winter, albeit with a second string side in their final dead rubber group match against Tunisia.
Will Southgate go for a four or five-man defense? That is the question on everybody’s lips right now. The threat of Mbappe is real and he strikes fear into the hearts of all, no matter the opposition. However, England are yet to use a five-man system all tournament, with the back four holding strong thus far. The Three Lions have conceded just two goals all tournament and they came when they were already in cruise control over Iran.
Team News
If the England boss does opt for five at the back then we should expect Kyle Walker to slot into right centre-back alongside Harry Maguire and John Stones, whilst Kieran Trippier could be recalled to the side to feature at right wing-back.
It would also mean that a midfielder or attacker would have to drop to the bench. Jude Bellingham is performing at an incredible standard and Henderson has also been playing well since his introduction against the USA. Although Declan Rice has recently missed training due to illness, he is still extremely likely to be ready to go for Saturday and is an important player in the middle of the park.
Southgate has a plethora of selection headaches heading into such a monumental fixture and will even have Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling back. That also means he has to choose between the likes of Saka, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount, Jack Grealish and Sterling himself in attack. England are full of riches. Callum Wilson is a doubt, however, due to minor injury.
World champions France have dealt with the absences of their star players well so far, with the likes of N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku all being ruled out before a ball was even kicked in Qatar. Olivier Giroud has been excellent in leading the line for Deschamps’ men, filling in for Real Madrid forward Benzema. The Milan striker has scored three goals at the World Cup so far and has now overtaken Thierry Henry as all-time record goalscorer.
Deschamps will also be without Lucas Hernandez after he suffered a serious injury against Australia in France’s tournament opener. However, his brother Theo Hernandez is expected to continue at left-back in his absence.
Head-to-Head
The last time both England and France met in competitive action was at Euro 2012 where the scores finished level at 1-1. Neither side were at their best back then and exited the competition at the quarter-final stage. However, we have to go back 40 years until the last time the two nations met at the World Cup. England picked up a 3-1 win back then, with Bryan Robson bagging a brace.
It was even five years ago since the last time the two sides faced off at all – a friendly match back in 2017 that ended in a 3-2 win for France. Since England’s triumph over France at the World Cup in 82′, Les Bleus have picked up five wins out of nine games in all competitions, with the Three Lions recording just one victory. Southgate will be hoping that recent history can be overturned.
Potential Lineups:
England (5-2-3): Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Luke Shaw; Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham; Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Phil Foden
France (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez; Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe; Olivier Giroud
Final Prediction
England 1-0 France (AET)
We’re backing England to just about get past France here due to the sheer depth in talent across the whole of England’s squad. A five-man system is likely and given Southgate’s history of using the formation against stronger opposition at other major tournaments, we’re expecting him to do so again here.
With that in mind, the game is very likely to be cagey and England are good at taking the sting out of the game with their impressive defensive structure. A five-man defense will make this even more likely to happen and then that’s when the strength in depth comes in.
The tight contest could take us into extra time and so the speed of the players on England’s bench could come on and make the difference against a tiring France defense. Both Rashford and Sterling are likely to be left on the bench to start the match and could be catalysts for the Three Lions.
Of course, an Mbappe masterclass is every much as likely and could easily put this theory to bed early on but the cautiousness of Soutgate’s approach since he was brought in as England head coach signals that his team will do all they can stop him. Roll on Saturday for a behemoth clash between two of the best teams in the world.