England vs France Preview

World Cup defending champions France will continue the defence of their 2018 title this Saturday when they face England at the Al Bayt Stadium in the quarter-final round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The Three Lions booked their place in this round of the tournament thanks to an impressive 3-0 win over AFCON champions Senegal last time out. In an entertaining game at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Gareth Southgate’s men were the second-best team for the first 25 minutes. But first-half goals from Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane gave England a 2-0 lead before the break. After the break, Bukayo Saka added another goal to seal a 3-0 win for the Three Lions, whose clean sheet in the game means that they have kept three clean sheets in a row heading into this game.

That win also means that England have qualified for the quarter-final round of a major tournament for the third time in a row. Having scored the joint-most goals in the World Cup so far, they will now look to outdo a French side that have kept just one clean sheet in their last ten games.

Les Bleus produced another impressive knockout performance last time out beating Poland 3-1 thanks to goals from the record-breaking duo of Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe.

The AC Milan striker notched up his 52nd goal for France at the national team level, making him the striker with the most goals for Les Bleus, one ahead of Thierry Henry. Mbappe’s brace took him to five goals in the World Cup, taking him to the top of the Golden Boot race, two goals clear of the chasing pack.

After winning that game, head coach Didier Deschamps stated that his players are still “hungry” to prolong their stay in Qatar. The World Cup-winning coach will hope that his star men can produce another great performance as they look to make it six World Cup knockout wins in a row.