France aims to keep their dreams of retaining the World Cup title alive by going past a dangerous England side. Here’s Last Word on Football’s France predicted lineup vs England for the World Cup quarter-final game on Saturday.
France Predicted Lineup vs England
How France Has Lined-up Recently
France has played some fantastic attacking football all throughout the World Cup and that is because they’ve maintained a fearless, positive brand of football in the matches so far. A major reason behind that is their explosive front four which includes some highly-talented players.
Kylian Mbappe has been their major driving force with five goals in four appearances. But Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, and Ousmane Dembele are all vital clogs in creating electric attacking moves and will definitely be important for them against England.
In midfield, the newly-formed duo of Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot have added the right balance of defensive fortitude and energy levels to keep things moving smoothly. Didier Deschamps has a settled back four as well, with the experienced Raphael Varane commanding things valiantly to help them keep things tight at the back.
France Recent Form
Les Bleus actually came into the World Cup on the back of some really poor form in 2022. In the eight matches they played this year before the competition, they were only able to win three of them – suffering three losses as well. However, the defending champions regained their vigor once they entered the biggest stages of football.
France picked up a dominant 4-1 win over Australia to kick off their World Cup campaign perfectly, before also slotting away Denmark with a comfortable win. In doing so, they broke the ‘World Cup defending champions’ curse’ – becoming the first defending champions since the 2006 edition to make it out of the group stages. After topping the group, Les Bleus were drawn to play Robert Lewandowski’s Poland side.
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However, Deschamps’ side showed no signs of vulnerability in it. An inspiring performance from Mbappe helped them storm their way to a 3-1 win and ensure that they headed into the huge game against England high on confidence.
France Tactics
Deschamps’ tactics for his France national team have not really changed from the 2018 edition, which they won. But then again, why fix something that ain’t broken? Les Bleus have been aggressive with their approach and especially efficient in the fast breaks and counter-attacks.
Of course, they are helped by having a really flexible and explosive front four to provide the goods for them. Mbappe can produce something magnificent even in a game where he’s having a stinker. His incredible pace, burst of pace, and thunderous finishing have helped him bag five goals, making him the decisive factor for his side in all their wins so far.
Giroud is the ideal target man for the team. He loves to drop deep, hold-up play, and play clever passes to send his teammates through on goal. But he’s also clinical in the box, latching onto crosses and passes – helping him score 3 goals in the World Cup too. Dembele’s another livewire on the right, with his dribbling ability and crossing ability bringing another dimension to their attack.
Griezmann has been a bit of a guardian angel for the French side at the World Cup. Despite not being involved in many goals, the midfielder’s excellent passes through the lines and defence-splitting balls have helped unlock the defences time and again. In midfield, Rabiot plays like a box-to-box midfielder who often takes risks in getting into the final third to add an extra body in attack. Tchouameni is tasked to recover the ball and progress the ball from defence to attack.
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France has a compact and well-structured back-four that has only conceded four goals (including a penalty). The highly-experienced Varane has been a vocal figure, commanding his defenders to keep a tight line and often coming to France’s rescue with vital challenges. His partner Upamecano has been really energetic, using his physicality and pace to stop attacks. Jules Kounde, despite being a centre-back, has slotted to his right-back role well and has been solid defensively.
Both he and Theo Hernandez are also given the license to bomb forward to add more width to his side. It’s helped, with the wing-backs often getting into promising areas and helping create major chances. This France side is a well-oiled machine and filled with players who can all make a difference. They’ll aim to hound England with endless dynamic moves from the wings and use speed to their advantage to run riot.
France Injuries to Consider
Les Bleus suffered many injury setbacks before the World Cup. Paul Pogba, Wesley Fofana, and N’Golo Kante were not available for selection because of injury problems. Before the World Cup, Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and prolific forward Christopher Nkunku also had to pull out because of injuries.
In the first game, left-back Lucas Hernandez also suffered a nasty injury that ended his World Cup as well. Fortunately for Deschamps, he has been able to select from a fully fit squad since then and has a strong one to pick from in the England game.
France Predicted Lineup vs England on Saturday
⚡️ 𝐏𝐑𝐄̂𝐓𝐒 ⚡️#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/2X0wBjUlbs
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) December 9, 2022
Hugo Lloris, Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud
