Siraaj Khan gives his thoughts on the key upcoming match between England and France in the World Cup Quarterfinals, is football coming home?
England will come to a standstill this Saturday at 7 pm. Roads will be quiet, and televisions will be on at home. Families will watch on nervously as the three lions face France in the World Cup Quarter-final. A match that will take everything to win.
France will go in as favourites. The 2018 champions are looking to do the impossible. To win 2 world cups back-to-back. They certainly have the firepower to do so. Kylian Mbappe is the leading goalscorer with 5 goals in the tournament so far. Olivier Giroud has reached 52 goals during the world cup, an all-time record for a French player. While Benzema picking up an injury was a blow to the current world champions, they’ve looked strong without him. Mbappe and Dembele’s pace is sure to cause problems for England’s defenders. Kyle Walker may be one of the few defenders who have the speed to keep up with those attackers. Many fans have been hoping Southgate uses a 5-3-2 formation in Saturday’s game to provide extra security. It’s a tactic that he hasn’t employed at the World Cup thus far.
The midfield has been especially impressive. Injuries to Kante and Pogba had many concerned about their chances in this World Cup, but the French marched on. Deschamps has entrusted Tchoumani and Rabiot as defensive midfielders in a 4-2-3-1, and they have performed so far. Tchouameni is up and coming. He was bought by Real Madrid this summer for £85.3 million. His ability to control the tempo of the game is a valuable asset and one that could cause England problems. In the majority of the games so far, Southgate has preferred his team to start the game at a slower pace, passing the ball around the back. While keeping possession of the ball has been done effectively against Wales, Iran, and Senegal, it’s unlikely to work against the high press employed by Deschamps’ team. Southgate will need to adapt his tactics to play against the high press.
Despite France’s firepower, England have played well so far. The three lions have scored 12 goals at the World Cup so far. Only Portugal have scored as many goals in Qatar. Saka and Rashford have both notched 3 goals each in the tournament. Kane has been effective as a playmaker, with 3 assists to his name so far. Jude Bellingham was brilliant against Senegal as he assisted Henderson’s goal and began the counter attack that led to Kane’s goal. The English attack has been efficient in this world cup converting their chances into goals. France’s defence has looked vulnerable. They are yet to keep a clean sheet in Qatar, with Australia, Denmark, Tunisia, and, Poland all scoring 1 goal each. To compare, Pickford has kept 3 clean sheets and conceded only 1 goal from open play.
To finish off, while I think France are favourites, I would not be surprised if England win. The strike force of Mbappe, Giroud and Dembele is a lot for many defenders to handle but, France has conceded in every game in the tournament so far. We’ve seen Japan defeat Spain and Germany. Saudi Arabia beat Argentina, and Morocco overcome Spain in the last 16. This tournament has had its fair share of upsets so far. Let’s hope that trend can continue on Saturday night.
Come on England.
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