World Cup Predictions: France vs England

Two neighbours, France and England, will renew their rivalries thousands of miles away from home when they fight to grab a spot in the last four of the World Cup.

Both teams progressed to the quarterfinals with comfortable victories. So, football fans can rub their hands in anticipation of a mouthwatering tie on Saturday night.

Senegal had a brilliant start to the game against England, but their resistance fell apart as soon as England found their first goal through the experienced Jordan Henderson.

Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka added to the tally to make the scoreline 3-0, and it stayed that way at the final whistle.

Gareth Southgate now stands a chance of becoming the first Three Lions boss to lead his team to succussive World Cup semifinals, should they manage to end France’s title defence.

England’s performances in major competitions under Southgate should make the England faithful confident ahead of the tie, even though they are about to face arguably the best team in the tournament.

France also had to survive an early assault from Poland before taking control of the tie.

Olivier Giroud opened the scoring right before the first-half whistle and surpassed Thierry Henry to become the second highest all time goal-scorer for France.

The mercurial Kylian Mbappé bagged a brace in the second half to seal the fate of the tie. Robert Lewandowski scored a late penalty to cut the deficit.

France now need to win three more matches to keep hold of the World Cup trophy they won in Russia four years ago.

On paper, England will be their biggest test of the tournament up until now.

Les Bleus emerged victorious in only one of their last eight encounters with England.

France manager Didier Deschamps will bank on the immense attacking depth of his squad to condemn England to their seventh quarter-final defeat in their history.

Team News

Raheem Sterling became the latest England player to fly back home for personal reasons after Arsenal defender Ben White also had to leave the squad for family reasons. So, none of them will be available for selection against France.

Callum Wilson has been feeling minor discomfort, but he should be fit enough to make the bench.

Declan Rice missed training through injury, but the Three Lions camp expects him to be in shape for the quarterfinal.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson might rejoin Rice and Jude Bellingham in the midfield trident.

Kylian Mbappé sent alarm bells ringing in the French contingent as he missed training because of an ankle problem.

But the medical team has ruled out any serious complication, so he should be on the pitch right from the start. So, Deschamps doesn’t have any fresh fitness and suspension concerns before the match.

Our Prediction

France and England have both enjoyed a great campaign so far, but one have to go home on Saturday.

We believe England will be the last man standing after the tie. France have been fluid in attack, but they have been defensively vulnerable and the Three Lions have the weapons in their arsenal to outscore France.

We expect a 3-2 win for England.

Date: 11 December

Kickoff: 12:30 AM

Venue: Al Bayt Stadium