England are due to take on the world champions in the final eight. We thought we’d do a backstory leading up to the game and then give our reasons why we think Gareth Southgate’s squad will and wont beat them in Saturdays Quarter Finals.
The next round will be probably the biggest of the whole tournament so far, the Lions are due to take on Les Blues in what could be a make-or-break game for who could make it that step further and prove they are favourites for the competition.
France ooze quality in all positions on the field, with the start of their campaign dulled down slightly with the news that some of their most important players that will not be on the plane to Qatar including, Karim Benzema, Ngolo Kante and Paul Pogba will be ruled out of the squad due to injuries.
Going into the game, France has players that could tear England apart, with the likes of Griezmann, Dembele, Giroud and Starman Kylian Mbappe it could be a long hellish game for the Southgates squad as he will be aiming to carry our men to the Semi-finals in back-to-back world cups. France have arguably been the standout squad in the competition so far, after convincingly beating Poland 3-1 in their last game (round of 16), there is a level of pace that France brings that can pose a real threat to England’s midfield and defence, and with some of those front guys scoring edge of the box screamers that Jordan Pickford could really do without.
England on the other hand have proven so much but so little in the eyes of some of the fans, with the world cup being right in the middle of the premier league season and the excuses of players being fatigued and out of form as they could at any of the previous world cups. There can be a level of doubt in the air when it comes to looking at form over the recent UEFA nations league games the most recent being losses to Hungary, Italy and a stalemate with Germany that left fans becoming more vocal about Southgate overseeing the team.
Since the England squad was announced it had left some fans in doubt for what the manager saw in his various strategies for the campaign. Players like Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson, were questioned as to why they had been selected within the squad after they may have had a shaky start to their seasons at club level, like Trent, less time on the pitch to evaluate whether the players had earned their right to play for their country like Phillips who has only appeared a small number of times since his move to the Premier League champions Man City.
England have started their world cup campaign with a storming 6-2 victory that may have sealed any doubts that they might be over Southgate overseeing the squad, despite the manager not being happy with the lack of a clean sheet especially Maguire giving away a cheap penalty in the final minutes of the game.
Since then, England played the United States in a 0-0 stalemate, with the doubts slowly creeping back in a 0-3 victory against Wales was something that brought back the spirits to the fans as England made it into the knockout stages. On Sunday night confidence was in the air when the three lions put 3 past Senegal after a shaky first half. It was a commanding performance and one that has given the fans much uncertainty when asking who will be victorious on Saturday night.
2 Points as To Why England can beat France:
The midfield – England’s midfield has been where most of the magic has had to come from with this current crop of players. Despite the fans worrying that some of the choices would be worrying, Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson proved that he shouldn’t be dismissed so easily, opening the scoresheet against Senegal at the weekend and being a staple part of the midfield 3 for practically the entire game. ‘I can’t understand it for the life of me’ said Jude Bellingham on the criticism for the number 8 to even be in the competition after assisting his goal in a post-match interview.
Attacking Options – With the likes of Kane, Foden, Saka, Rashford and Sterling being the favourites to be starting in those positions up front, there is so much quality to be admired when it comes to the way that these players can amaze every time they play. After the woeful end to their Euro 2020 campaign last summer, each missing a penalty in the final, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford have been incredible at this world cup so far.
Each scoring 3 goals in their last 3 games that England have won off the bench or in the starting line-up these two have expressed their confidence on the pitch whenever they get a touch of the ball. Both guys have contributed 4 goals to their Premier League sides Arsenal and Man United back home so you could say that this world cup is a bounce back for them. With Leicester man James Maddison and Newcastle striker Callum Wilson getting called up to the squad and yet to start or play a full game for the team, there is so much to look forward should they be subbed on or play in the later rounds.
1 Point as To Why England cannot beat France
The Defence – When it comes to form and the perspectives from the fans, England’s back line has been arguably one of the biggest talking points when it comes to the squad. As mentioned before, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Trent Alexander-Arnold being in the squad has raised the eyebrows of many fans and critics alike. Trent defensively looking shaky for Liverpool in their first 19 Champions league and Premier league games this season, it has been a start to forget with a lot of worry as to why he would’ve been picked for the tournament even if Kyle Walker wasn’t injury prone or Chelsea’s Reece James wasn’t ruled out completely.
So far throughout the competition, one of the positive surprises to those in doubt was how well the defence was holding up against some of the rapid attackers that they had faced. With the France squad being the toughest challenge that England face so far in the competition and having reportedly the fastest footballer in the world in their attack, the defence will be the most unpredictable part of the side going into the game still, therefore we have it as one of our points.
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