In one of the more highly anticipated matchups of the 2022 FIFA World Cup so far, France and England prepare to face-off in a quarter-final matchup with no clear favourite.
Les Bleus and the Three Lions have not met in a World Cup since 1982, and in the two times they’ve met at the tournament, England came out on top. However, the defending World Cup champions have only lost once to England in all competition through the last 20 years.
On Friday, Martyn Ziegler, chief sports reporter for The Times, and Jonathan Johnson, a soccer columnist for CBS Sports based in France, spoke to their side’s strengths and weaknesses in interviews on Going Deep with Donnovan Bennett ahead of the showdown in Al Khor on Saturday.
France survives key injuries
Les Bleus came into the World Cup reeling. One of the best midfielders on the planet and a major contributor to France’s 2018 World Cup win, N’Golo Kante, was on the mend with a hamstring injury and would miss the tournament for manager Didier Deschamps’ side.
Prospects got worse as the tournament got closer. Paul Pogba, another world-class midfielder, and Karim Benzema, 2022’s Ballon d’Or winner, would also be out for the World Cup with injuries.
Despite missing several key pieces, France has outclassed each opponent they’ve drawn – other than a throwaway Group Stage game against Tunisia where Deschamps started mostly backups.
“There's a growing sense of optimism, for sure,” said Johnson. “People were pessimistic at the beginning of the tournament when you saw so many players dropping out because of injuries, but since they started performing, people have started to feel like it may be possible to get to the final and try and defend the title.
“That sense of many things working against France before they even kicked a ball in Qatar really helped (Deschamps) galvanize the squad.”
France has dominated primarily through its two strikers: expectedly, Kylian Mbappé, who leads the tournament for goals with five, and, perhaps unexpectedly, Olivier Giroud, who at age 36 has become the all-time leading scorer with 52 goals in 117 caps.
“He's somebody who's worked hard for everything that he's had in his career, somebody who never had it easy,” Johnson said about Giroud. “He's an ideal teammate and dream striker partner for guys like Kylian Mbappé.”
With its biggest strength coming on the offensive end, France will look to challenge England’s back line that has struggled to keep up with faster attackers.
France’s most notable weakness comes at the opposite side of the pitch with its defence.
“The problem [the defence] has is there's a mixture of players who are coming back to full fitness, some who have form issues, and some who just still getting used to the international scene,” said Johnson.
England believes it’s coming home
With the way that England’s players have played for both club and country, it’s easy to buy-in to the narrative that ‘football’s coming home.’
Harry Kane’s playmaking may be a big reason why.
The Tottenham striker is tied with Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes for the most assists at the World Cup with three, while winger Bukayo Saka and super-sub Marcus Rashford lead the charge in the goal-scoring department with three apiece.
“It's worked so well – really nicely balanced,” said Ziegler on England’s manager Gareth Southgate’s starting eleven.
“It's very rare for Southgate to stick to the same lineup, but I just can't see why he would change it.”
A major revelation for England has been 19-year-old midfielder Jude Bellingham who plays club football for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. The budding star has had an immense impact both offensively and defensively.
“He's unstoppable,” said Ziegler. “He provides so much - he covers the entire pitch, he's strong, he's fast, he's skillful, he can score goals, he can set up goals.
“He's the all-around player sort of player that England haven't had since the 1980s.”
Like France, Southgate’s main weakness is on the defensive side. England’s centre back duo of Harry Maguire and John Stones haven’t received too much praise from the viewing masses, and a head-to-head matchup against a speedster like Mbappé stirs fear for England supporters.
On Saturday, Southgate can show no signs of retreat against a French unit that can score at will.
