England are now three wins away from winning the World Cup after they comfortably beat Senegal 3-0 in the last 16.
The Three Lions’ reward for dispatching the Lions of Teranga is a tie against France in the quarter-finals.
But Les Bleus and Kylian Mbappe will prove to be the toughest test yet for Gareth Southgate’s men after they easily beat Poland 3-1.
This will be England’s first meeting with the defending world champions since a friendly in 2017 and the anticipation is already building.
England v France: Date and kick-off time
This World Cup quarter-final clash will be held on Saturday, December 10.
Kick-off at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor is set for 7pm UK time, which is 10pm in Qatar.
England v France: How to listen on the radio
Full coverage from Al Khor will be live on talkSPORT, with our coverage starting at 5pm.
talkSPORT.com will also have a live blog for all the action too.
talkSPORT World Cup 2022 Coverage
talkSPORT is bringing you wall-to-wall coverage of the 2022 World Cup.
We are broadcasting all 64 games in the tournament live, with over 600 hours of coverage across our network.
You can tune in to talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2 via our free online streaming service at talkSPORT.com.
talkSPORT is widely available across the UK via DAB digital radio and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
You can also download the talkSPORT app, or ask your smart speaker to play talkSPORT.
England v France: Squads and team news
talkSPORT understands England will name an unchanged XI from the team that beat Senegal in the round of 16.
Declan Rice was the only one from that side who was doubtful due to illness, but he is expected to take his place in midfield.
Raheem Sterling has returned to Qatar and will most likely be on the bench.
The 28-year-old did not feature in Sunday’s last-16 win against Senegal due to concerns over his family’s wellbeing following an incident at his home in Surrey.
Callum Wilson is also back in contention after overcoming a minor niggle.
Meanwhile, France are without Lucas Hernandez and Karim Benzema from their original squad due to injury.
Mbappe is also nursing a small ankle issue but it isn’t thought to be serious.
Therefore, they could name an unchanged XI from the one that beat Poland.
England
- Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle United), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
- Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal)
- Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea)
- Forwards: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Callum Wilson (Newcastle United), James Maddison (Leicester City)
France
- Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham United), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Stade Rennais)
- Defenders: Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Axel Disasi (AS Monaco), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Raphael Varane (Manchester United)
- Midfielders Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (AS Monaco), Matteo Guendouzi (Marseille), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Jordan Veretout (Marseille)
- Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt), Marcus Thuram (Borussia Monchengladbach)
England v France: What has been said
Gareth Southgate speaking to talkSPORT about France: “He’s (Kylian Mbappe) a world-class player. He has delivered big moments in this tournament and in previous tournaments.
“(Antoine) Griezmann is now at over 70 consecutive games for France, and he’s a phenomenal player. We know Olivier Giroud as well, and they have outstanding midfield players.
“Everywhere you look they have incredible depth of talent in every position, and it’s a huge test, but one we are really looking forward to, and it’s a great challenge.”
England v France: Match facts
- This will be the third World Cup meeting between England and France, with the Three Lions winning both of the previous two, a 2-0 victory in 1966 and 3-1 in 1982, both in the group stage.
- France have only lost one of their last eight meetings with England across all competitions (W5 D2), a 2-0 defeat in a friendly in November 2015. This is the two nations’ first encounter since June 2017, when Les Bleus won a friendly 3-2.
- England have been eliminated from six of their last eight World Cup knockout matches against fellow European nations. By contrast, France have progressed from eight of their last 10 World Cup knockout matches against European opposition (includes third-place play-off and final).
- France will be the first reigning champions to participate in the quarter-final of the World Cup since Brazil in 2006. France have won three games at the 2022 World Cup so far, while that Brazil team from 2006 (4) are the only reigning champions to have won more in a single tournament this century.
- Gareth Southgate is looking to become the first England manager to guide the nation to two World Cup semi-finals, having reached the final four in 2018. The Three Lions’ only other two semi-final appearances at the finals came under Alf Ramsey in 1966 and Bobby Robson in 1990.
- England are looking to win three consecutive World Cup matches for the first time since 1990, when the third such match came in the quarter-final. The Three Lions have won three of their four matches at this year’s World Cup (D1); they have only won more at a single edition of the tournament in 1966 when winning the title (five).
- France are unbeaten in the 13 games in which Kylian Mbappé has started in the World Cup and European Championships combined (W10 D3), winning all nine in which he has started at the World Cup. The Frenchman has been directly involved in 12 goals in these 13 starts, scoring nine and making three assists.
- England have scored 12 goals in their four games at the 2022 World Cup, their joint-most at a single major tournament (World Cup/Euros), having also scored 12 at the 2018 World Cup. These 12 goals have been scored by eight different players, the nation’s outright most ever number of scorers at a single edition of a major tournament (excl. own goals).
- Harry Kane has scored 52 goals for England in all competitions, just one short of Wayne Rooney’s all-time record for the nation (53). Of those 52 goals, 11 have been scored in major tournaments (7 World Cup, 4 Euros), a record for the Three Lions, ahead of Gary Lineker (10, all at World Cup).
- Olivier Giroud has scored three goals for France at the 2022 World Cup, with only Kylian Mbappé netting more for Les Bleus (5). The only player aged 36+ to score more than three times in a single World Cup tournament was Roger Milla for Cameroon in 1990 (four goals at the age of 38).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)