England will face their toughest test of the 2022 World Cup so far on Saturday night, as they face France in the quarter-finals.
After a slow start, goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka secured an emphatic 3-0 win for England over Senegal in the World Cup last 16 last Sunday. The victory booked the Three Lions' spot in the World Cup quarter-finals, setting up a mouth-watering tie against the reigning world champions, France.
A Kylian Mbappe brace following Olivier Giroud's opening goal handed France a 3-1 win over Poland in their previous tie. But England have kept three clean sheets in a row in the World Cup, with Gareth Southgate also said to be preparing a plan to try and stop the threat of star Les Blues forward Mbappe.
England are expected to stick with their 4-3-3 formation, though Southgate has tended to switch to a three-at-the-back set-up against some of the bigger nations in the past. Ben White is no longer part of the England squad after flying home for personal reasons, whilst Raheem Sterling has returned to the England camp after missing the clash with Senegal last week.
So, could England advance to the World Cup semi-finals when they face France on Saturday? We simulated the clash to try and find out.
England vs France score prediction
To run this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions. We didn't select a team to control, but let the AI take the helm to get an England vs France score prediction.
We speculate that the Three Lions could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with its line-up as follows: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Rice, Henderson, Bellingham; Saka, Kane, Foden.
We predict that France could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Lloris; Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud.
England were sent a stern warning of France's attacking intent in the opening five minutes when Ousmane Dembele rounded Jordan Pickford, but from a tight angle, the winger could only hit the post. A big let off for England, but moments later, Jude Bellingham handed the Three Lions the lead.
As Kane dropped deep to receive the ball, Henderson burst into the box to fill the gap left by the striker, providing a fantastic option for the England striker to pick out. Henderson was found by Kane with a through ball, and a smart backheel from the Liverpool man saw the ball fall to the feet of Bellingham who fired past Hugo Lloris.
Both sides created plenty of chances in the first half, with Jordan Pickford called into action twice to make important saves for Southgate's side. But, with four minutes until the break, Kane got on the scoresheet to grab a vital second goal.
Bellingham was involved again, with the midfielder breaking into the France box and causing havoc. A skilful turn saw the 19-year-old breeze past Aurelien Tchouameni before squaring the ball to Kane, and the England captain swept the ball into the net to double the Three Lions' lead.
Les Blues came out the stronger side in the second half, and they pulled a goal back just seven minutes after the restart through a long-range Adrien Rabiot strike. As the game went on, the reigning champions started to look more dangerous on the front foot, but an error in midfield saw England pounce and grab a third with 14 minutes remaining.
Henderson's constant pressure on the opposition was vital to England being ahead, and the 32-year-old forced Rabiot into a mistake on the halfway line to send his side forward in numbers. Henderson picked out the advancing run of Bellingham on the left, and a perfectly-weighted pass through to Kane in the box allowed the striker to lift the ball over Lloris to regain the two-goal lead.
Mbappe grabbed his first major chance of the game in added time when he met Kingsley Coman's cross at the back post, but his header looped over Pickford and skimmed the top of the bar. France were unable to muster a comeback, with the Three Lions emerging 3-1 winners.
Simulation result: England 3-1 France
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that Jude Bellingham could star again for England in a tremendous victory for England over France. The Borussia Dortmund man scored and grabbed two assists, with the midfield battle potentially where the game could be won on Saturday.
In the simulation, Bellingham, Henderson and Declan Rice all averaged a rating above 7.6, whilst the highest rating in the France midfield was 7.0.
