England and France will square up this Saturday in the quarter-final round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Venue: Al Bayt Stadium (Al Khor)
Key Statistics
England have kept three clean sheets in their last three games.
They have scored the joint-most goals in Qatar this year (12 goals, level with Portugal).
The Three Lions are the only team yet to collect a yellow card at this World Cup.
France have kept just one clean sheet in their last ten games.
They have 2+ goals in three of their four World Cup games this campaign.
Les Bleus have won their last five World Cup knockout games.
World Cup trivia: Bellingham is just the eighth player to be included in an England World Cup squad while playing for a non-British club.
Head to head
Both teams first squared off in 1923, but this is just their third meeting at a World Cup, and the first since 1982. England won both of those meetings by a two-goal margin, yet they have just one win across the last eight H2Hs (D2, L5).
Latest performances in all competitions
England: W-W-D-W-D
France: W-L-W-W-L
England
England will look to continue their run in Qatar this Saturday when they take on old rivals France.
The Three Lions overcame an uncertain start against Senegal last round to win 3-0 in the last 16, thanks to goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka.
The result marked England’s third consecutive clean sheet (W2, D1), prompting similarities to be drawn with last year’s run to the European Championship final, which was underpinned by defensive solidity.
They will now hope to produce another great performance against a France side that has the current top scorer in the World Cup–Kylian Mbappe. There has been talks all week about Manchester City fullback Kyle Walker being the best person to nullify the rapid forward.
Both he and Gareth Southgate will hope that they can keep Mbappe quiet and secure a place in the semifinals for the third major tournament running.
Possible England starting line-up
Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Harry Kane.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Raheem Sterling
Suspended: None
France
World Cup defending champions continued their impressive 3-1 win over tournament dark horses Poland.
A brace from the in-form Kylian Mbappe and a fine strike by Olivier Giroud, who became France’s top scorer in the process, gave Les Bleus the win and ensured that they bounced back from their 1-0 loss to Tunisia in their last group stage game.
Didier Deschamps has stated that his players are still “hungry” to prolong their stay in Qatar and so will hope they can produce another brilliant display in their bid to make it six World Cup knockout wins in a row.
Possible France starting line-up
Hugo Lloris, Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembélé, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud.
Injured: Lucas Hernandez
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Odds
| Odds-England | Odds-France | % England | % France | |
| To qualify | 2.100 | 1.720 | 48.36 | 51.64 |
| In 90 mins | 3.000 | 2.400 | 21.32 | 27.42 |
| In Extra-time | 5.000 | 4.000 | 12.57 | 16.61 |
| In Penalty | 4.330 | 9.000 | 14.58 | 7.61 |
Prediction
England 2-2 France
Live Stream
For details, FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 – TV Broadcast / Live Stream
