The last of the quarter finals at the FIFA World Cup is probably the pick of the four matches on paper as the 1966 winners England take on the defending champions France for the right to meet Morocco or Portugal in the semi-final on Wednesday night.
This match could very well have been the final four years ago had England not been beaten in the semi-final, but they meet now in what has the potential to be an all-time World Cup classic between two very exciting sides.
Where to watch
It is back to ITV 1 for this fourth quarter final if you are in the UK. The build-up to this one begins at 6pm and the contest gets underway at 7pm.
England
It has been a road which has had one or two speed bumps along the way for England in this tournament so far, but they have made it through to this stage with the wagon undamaged and feeling very good about their chances. The ruthless nature of their win over Senegal in the Round of 16 was something which breeds confidence. This is an exciting England team who are relishing being feared and enjoying the opportunity they have in front of them.
This is an England team that are so good when they move through the third at the natural pace they have within their ranks. They have a squad that every team left in the competition will be jealous of and if their defence holds up to the challenges it will be posed in this match then England have every right to think it will be them lining up in a second successive World Cup semi-final because this French defence is there to be got at.
France
I think France are a feared side in world football right now, as much because they are the current champions and a good tournament side, as well as obviously having the most dynamic attacker in world football at their disposal. His presence means they don’t even need to play well and he can do something incredible and win the match for his side. You get the impression that France will need to play well here because England aren’t fearing anyone.
If France are going to win this match then they have to defend better than they have been doing. They don’t have a clean sheet in the tournament yet despite not really coming up against a cohesive attacking unit. There is no doubt England will pose major questions to a defence which let them down at the Euros last year when they scored three against Switzerland and still didn’t have enough goals to progress. That will put pressure on their attack to deliver the goods here.
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Team News
Gareth Southgate is keeping his starting XI very close to his chest in case of tactical switches but he is expected to name the same team which began the win over Senegal. Raheem Sterling is back in Qatar and is available if needed.
France are also expected to be unchanged for this match which means that Jules Kounde and Aurelien Tchouameni are likely to begin the game even though they are both on a yellow card and would miss a possible semi-final if they collect another one here.
Betting
This should be a really pulsating quarter final largely because I don’t think there is anything either coach can do to protect their defence without completely destroying their best chance to win the game. I expect this to be very much like that game France had in the knockout stages with Switzerland in the Euros a year ago, or more recently like England had with Germany in the Nations League, both of which ended 3-3 after 90 minutes.
I’m not saying this one will end 3-3 but I do expect goals to come at both ends because these defences, protected as they might try to be, just have a mistake in them and they are both susceptible to pace and both of these teams have plenty of that in their ranks. France have bagged nine goals in three matches with their main starters on show in this tournament. England have 12 in four so they are both averaging three a game. I think the 10/11 that both sides find the net in this one is a big price.
Tips
Back Both teams to score for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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