World Cup 2022, France vs England: Everything you need to know

A classic rivalry takes place on Saturday as England and France compete for a spot in the final four of the World Cup when they face off in the quarterfinals. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. ET from Al Bayt Stadium. Defending champions France defeated Poland 3-1 while England blew past Senegal 3-0. The winner of France vs England will play the winner of the Portugal vs Morocco match in the semifinals.

England vs France live online: score, stats and updates | Qatar World Cup 2022

You can watch England vs France in the World Cup quarterfinals on FOX and Telemundo or live stream on fuboTV. You can also follow along with our live text coverage right here on AS USA.

England’s path to the World Cup quarterfinal

England is on a three-game streak without conceding a goal in the World Cup. In the Round of 16, they started off slow, but eventually came to a 3-0 win, beginning with an opening goal by Jordan Henderson in the 38th minute, followed by one by Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka. Across three of their four World Cup games, England have scored 12 goals. They’ve impressed in both the attack and defense, donning three consecutive clean sheets with Jordan Pickford as goalkeeper and Harry Maguire and John Stones at central defense.

They will now be faced with a much bigger challenge against defending champions France. Though the Three Lions have won their last two World Cup meetings with France, France have lost just one of the last eight games between the nations in all competitions. And quarterfinal exits are all too familiar to England, who have suffered them several times, in 1954, 1962, 1970, 1986, 2002, and 2006. France, on the other hand, have reached this stage in five of the last seven tournaments, including the last three.

England team news

England will be without attacker Raheem Sterling who had to fly back to the UK after there was a break-in at his home. Ben White is still out as well, for personal reasons. Callum Wilson is expected to start despite a minor strain. Declan Rice missed training on Wednesday due to an illness, but should be healthy enough to play on Saturday.

England coach Gareth Southgate has so far stuck with a 4-3-3 formation to the surprise of many. The match against France could be the first time he changes in this tournament to the three-at-back he usually favors, but he’s hinted that he will stick with what’s worked so far.

England possible starting lineup vs France

France’s path to the World Cup quarterfinal

France sealed their spot in the Round of 16 after just two games, beating Australia and Denmark in the group stages. Head coach Didier Deschamps made some changes to the lineup before the final group stage game and it didn’t work out so well. France suffered a shocking 2-1 loss to Tunisia. They then went on to easily reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the fifth time in the last seven tournaments after their 3-1 defeat over Poland. A goal by Olivier Giroud and two by superstar Kylian Mbappé in that game put France’s total goals in the World Cup at nine across the four games.

France are the team with the second-most shots (75) and third-highest expected goals total (8.8). With Qatar’s top scorer Kylian Mbappé, who has already scored five goals in this World Cup, plus Giroud and Griezmann in the attack, Les Bleus boasts plenty of talent in the front. France are the first title-holders to make it to a quarterfinal in the following tournament since Brazil did it back in 2006.

France team news

All France fans’ hearts stopped momentarily when Mbappé missed training on Tuesday with discomfort in his ankle. No need to fear though - he was back to practice on Wednesday and should be just fine for Saturday’s match with England. That’s good news for France, as they have won all nine World Cup matches in which Mbappé started. Olivier Giroud has three goals so far in the World Cup and could equal Roger Milla’s record as the only player over 36 years old to score four goals in one World Cup tournament.

France possible starting lineup vs England