A heavyweight clash between England and France at the Al- Bayt Stadium.
France enter this tie as favourites, having won the trophy four years ago and bucked the trend of defending champions exiting in the group stage.
Les Bleus are armed with Kylian Mbappe, too, arguably the most dangerous forward in football right now.
Both teams shone in the group stages as Didier Deschamps’ side topped their group and saw off Poland in the last 16, while England also qualified first in their pool before comfortably beating Senegal in the round of 16
ATTENTION: Click “HERE” to join our WhatsApp group and receive News updates directly on your WhatsApp!
Although England has won both of the sides’ previous World Cup meetings, France has lost just one of the past eight between the nations in all competitions.
England has impressed in the attack across three of their World Cup games in Qatar so far, with 12 goals across those three matches versus Iran, Wales and Senegal, including strikes by Jordan Henderson, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane in the 3-0 last 16 win over the African champions.
But it’s not just been an attack that they have impressed, with three successive clean sheets thanks much to the performances of Jordan Pickford in goal and Harry Maguire and John Stones in central defence.
Kickoff- 8:00 G.M.T
Venue – Al- Bayt Stadium
Team news
Olivier Giroud will continue to spearhead their attack. The former Arsenal and Chelsea striker became France’s all-time leading scorer with his 52nd international goal against Poland, surpassing the great Thierry Henry.
Kylian Mbappe missed training on Tuesday night but was fit to return 24 hours later.
Raheem Sterling missed England’s win over Senegal following a burglary at his home in Surrey. He returned to the UK to check on the welfare of his family but has since flown back to Doha to rejoin the squad and be in contention for this quarter-final, though he will settle for a place on the bench.
Arsenal defender Ben White has left the England squad to return home for personal reasons. Declan Rice is set to be available having sat out Wednesday’s session due to illness, while Callum Wilson is also back involved.
England predicted lineup:
Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Bellingham, Rice, Henderson; Saka, Kane, Foden
France predicted lineup:
Lloris; Kunde, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Wiesmann, Mbappe; Giroud
Prediction/odds
France is given a 40.3% chance of winning, ahead of slight underdogs England’s 32.4%. In a tie, this tight, extra time or penalties could be required, with the draw rated at 27.3%.
England won: 2/1
Draw (after 90 mins): 9/4
France win: 6/4
Odds via Betfair (subject to change)
Leave a comment