England will face France in the FIFA World Cup quarter finals this weekend. A first competitive meeting since 2012 could have huge bearings as to who goes on to lift the coveted trophy in Qatar.
Before England stormed to victory at the Al Bayt Stadium last night, France put on their own stellar display 46 kilometres away at the Al Thumama Stadium to comfortably brush Poland aside 3-1.
Former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud made history when opening the scoring, moving clear of Thierry Henry to become Les Bleus’ all-time leading goalscorer, whilst danger man Kylian Mbappé scored his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament in the second half.
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Any chance England have of progressing will hinge on stopping the PSG forward. With three shutouts in their last three matches though, confidence is growing that the Three Lions have what it takes to go all the way.
When is England vs France?
England take on France on Saturday, December 10th. Kick-off is at 7pm.
The clash will take place at the Al Bayt Stadium, where two of England’s clean sheets this tournament, including their most recent victory over Senegal, have taken place.
This will be the defending champions’ first match at this venue.
What channel is England vs France on?
The World Cup quarter final will be live on ITV, with ITV’s programme is currently billed to start an hour before kick-off.
The match will also be available on-demand via the ITV Hub.
England vs France odds
Given the fact this is the current holders we’re talking about, England come into a game in Qatar as underdogs, at least according to the bookies, for the first time.
France are favourites to win at 11/8, whilst England are at 21/10 on Bet365. They also value a draw in 90 minutes at 11/5, and interestingly for each country equally to go the distance and win on penalties at 9/1.
England vs France team news
Raheem Sterling left the England camp ahead of the Round of 16 after a burglary at his Surrey home in the build-up to the match. It is yet to be known whether the Chelsea forward will return prior to the quarter final.
Otherwise, England has a clean bill of health with no fresh injuries to report from the Senegal match.
France are in a similar position to England - no new injuries to hamper their chances of progression.
Still they remain without defender Lucas Hernandez, who was ruled out of the tournament just 12 minutes into their Group D opener with Australia, and the dangerous Karim Benzema was forced out of the squad before the tournament even began.
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