England v. France Al Khor (Al Bayt Stadium) Dec 10, 2022 10 pm - Qatar 7 pm - London (GMT) 2 pm - New York City
C'mon, y'all, get your 1066, Agincourt, Jeanne d'Arc, Lord Nelson, and Gerrard's backpass to Thierry Henry references in early
I think this is the match that will expose the missed french players in midfield. I see Bellingham outclassing them.
The atmosphere inside the French squad is excellent. There is a relaxed atmosphere while being confident and focussed on the task on hand. If the French squad is in harmony they are always a very tough team to eliminate for anybody. However France have shown defensive frailty at this tournament while not being always clinincal in the final third. Both was also to be seen against Poland yesterday. History is with France here. Since the rebirth of the French national team in 1998 they are leading the H2H record against England by a record of 5-2-1. England are also winless since decades against powerhouses in the knockout stage of the World Cup. However this particular generation of English players have shown in the last years that it's on its way to break historical patterns. France's record against powerhouses in this cycle 6 Wins 3 Draws 1 Loss England's record against powerhouses in this cycle 3 Wins 4 Draws 4 Losses All of these for both teams happened to be competitive matches in the Nations League + matches at EURO 2020.
I admit that England might have looked better in this tournament than France so far. But for big clashes I like to revert back to historical data and stats of this cycle. England surely are not favourites for this quarterfinal if we look at all these data on hand.
I see two very similar teams with similar strengths and weaknesses. Both goalkeepers can make great saves and also make silly errors. Both defences have been solid in the tournament so far, but are also capable of mistakes. Excellent midfields, if anything I'd give England the edge in terms of goalscoring creativity. A solid centre forward, with Kane's ability to create space for his attacking midfielders maybe giving him a sight edge over Giroud. But...Mbappe. A genius capable of turning a game by himself. The result could hinge on how well, or badly, England handle him. England have struggled to break teams down who sit in against them. They have needed a goal to generate the space for their talented midfield to operate in. That space should be there from the start against France. But Mbappe...
Mbappe didn't face a RB like Walker since the beginning of the tournament. He will have someone that Can deal with his speed.
If Southgate sticks with a 4, which I hope he does. My concern is that Southgate reverts to a 3, which means you have to lose one of the midfield trio who have become a stand out strength of this England team. Rice, Henderson and Bellingham is the most balanced midfield that England have had that I can remember and their interplay with the three ahead of them just works well once they have the space to play into.
This is going to be mighty tough for the English team, France are, in my opinion the best team in the world right now, I hope England do well and as we all know in football nothing is a 'given' but most people in England's foresaw this game as the end point for the team this year.
England has the deep Premier league scouting report on Lloris, Varane, and Giroud. As I eat beans on toast at the hotel, I think hmm England has an edge in this region.
I agree that England's defense will have a tough time dealing with Mbappe and company if they play their usual style and try to be patient in possession,. But if they cut space in the back and rely more on quick counters and plays, they should be able to punch some holes against the French. For me, it will ultimately boil down to tactic and which side proves more efficient.
As a French NT fan, I'm really worried. England now has a solid team with a lot of good players, fast players. They're especially great at countering and I'm not sure we can beat them this time. Don't overrate the current France team, all the injuries took their toll, they're definitely inferior to 2018 version... Our defense is a bit shaky with Varane coming back from injury and the young and half reliable Upamecano, and the midfield is definitely weaker with a young Tchouameni and an okay Rabiot... Only the attack is still very good, although slow Giroud should be less useful if England has the best share of the ball. It could be the end of the road for my team. I wouldn't say the same thing if we still had major players like Benzema, Lucas Hernandez, Pogba, prime Kante, Nkunku... It's hard without them. England has a ton of great players these days. They have more depth and look like the best squad overall compared to France. Still, France has a superstar in Mbappe, experience and creativity upfront too. So there's a chance.
Yes, I think the weakness in England team is they have trouble creating danger when you give them the ball and let them play, due to a lack of creativity and also a lack of dribbling outside of Foden. They're mostly great at countering, and they're solid overall. France can score both in open plays and counters, but they certainly look less solid and deep overall. So France plan could be to wait for them with a low block and strike on counters with Dembele / Mbappe. I doubt they can win if they play higher, with the way English are great at countering. It would get ugly.
I see England becoming official France's dark beast in World Cup after this match (1966 1982 2022). Walker won't let Mbappe breathe. Stones will keep Giroud under control. Bellingham Rice will outclass Tchouameni Rabiot. And then the Kane Saka Foden Sterling Rashford Mount Grealish will be too much to handle for this French backline.
I don't see a chance for England in this game, even if they have a great team. I don't like Giroud, but looks like is in the best shape. Also Griezmann and no need to say something about Mbappe. If England will score 3 goals, definitelly France will give 4.