World Cup Quarter-Final preview: England v France

England will face France in the 2022 Qatar World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, December 10sup>th/sup>.

Path to the last eight

England did not arrive in Qatar in the best of form, but came roaring out of the blocks and thrashed Iran in their opening game. A scoreless draw against the USA in which they struggled soon brought expectations down to earth, and they failed to breakdown a poor Welsh side in their so-called Battle of Britain game, before stamping their authority in the second half.

The African champions Senegal represented potentially dangerous round of 16 opponents, but after surviving some early scares, two goals before half-time effectively ended the match as a contest. A third was icing on the cake.

When France fell behind to Australia in their opening game, another World Cup shock appeared briefly on the cards, before Kylian Mbappé took the game by the scruff of the neck.

He was the dominant figure for them in that game and the one that followed against Denmark, and the drop off in quality was notable when he was rested for their final group fame with Tunisia which France subsequently lost.

However, his two goals against Poland in their round of 16 match with Poland saw him become the leading contender for the Golden Boot award and overshado0wed the achievement of his team-mate Olivier Giroud in becoming the all-time French top scorer, eclipsing the record of Thierry Henry.

Head to head

England and France have played each other 31 times before, and the current head-to-head record stands at 17 wins to England, 9 to France, and five draws.

There have been two previous World Cup meetings, England winning group-stage matches in 1966 and 1982.

Their last tournament meeting in the Euros of 2012 ended in a draw. France though, won their last meeting, a friendly in June 2017.

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Prediction

England have surprised some people, including their own fans, by the way that they have approached this tournament and are the top goal scorers in France, with eight men so far getting on the scoresheet for them.

This has perhaps masked some of their defensive deficiencies, and Harry Maguire continues to have a mistake in him every game. In the middle of the field, though, Jude Bellingham is emerging as a generational talent, whilst Phil Foden is beginning to show in an England jersey what he produces for Manchester City every week.

France, though, are all about Mbappé, and his power and pace, and England must find a way of coping with the threat he poses. The fact that some of Senegal’s best moments came when right-back Kyle Walker was pushed back by his opposing winger may cause fear as to what the 23-year-old PSG player might do if given the chance.

England will need to take their chances when they arrive and they will know that Hugo Lloris in the French goal is not always the best under pressure.

However, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that Mbappé will have the ultimate say in this match.