On Saturday night, England and France go head-to-head at the Al Baht Stadium in the last eight of the World Cup.
England form guideGareth Southgate’s team recorded a pretty comfortable passage to the quarter-finals with a 3-0 win over Senegal. England struggled to break down Aliou Cisse’s team before a quickfire double from Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane just before the break put them in complete control of the game. Bukayo Saka completed the scoring just shy of the hour mark.
The game saw the Three Lions extend their unbeaten run to five games. The recent stellar run has been down to highly effective performances at both ends of the field. They have kept three straight clean sheets and scored at least three goals in three of their last four international outings.
England have been a tough team to beat at the World Cup, as they have lost just one of their previous eight games in the competition.
France form guideLes Bleus have been one of the more impressive teams at World Cup 2022. Didier Deschamps’ team recorded a comprehensive 3-1 win over Poland in the last 16 to set up this exciting quarter-final meeting.
A certain Kylian Mbappe has, for the second straight World Cup, been the star attraction for the reigning champions. The PSG forward has scored five goals in four appearances in Qatar.
France has continued in Qatar, where they left off in Russia in front of goal, as Les Bleus have now scored at least two goals in six of their last eight World Cup matches.
Latest team newsEngland’s Raheem Sterling returned home to deal with a problem at home but could still return in time for this game. However, he looks unlikely to be in the starting line-up anyway. John Stones and Callum Wilson are fitness doubts, but both are expected to be fit enough to be part of the squad.
France has no fresh injury worries, so Didier Deschamps may decide to name an unchanged starting line-up from last time out.
What am I backing?This game could be a close but exciting encounter. Both teams have been impressive going forward, so I am backing over 2.5 goals scored in this massive clash.
