England face France in the World Cup quarter-final in Qatar on Saturday; the two highest-scoring teams in the tournament face off in one of ties of the tournament so far; Apart from Kylian Mbappe, who else do England need to worry about - and what are France's weaknesses?
Saturday 10 December 2022 19:39, UK
It's the blockbuster quarter-final at this World Cup. The reigning World Cup winners against not only one of their closest rivals in terms of geography, but one of the biggest threats to stealing their crown.
England vs France on Saturday night brings together the two highest-ranked European teams left in the tournament, the two top-scoring teams still at this World Cup, as well as the two best players in the Golden Boot and Glove standings.
A lot of the attention surrounding this game will centre around how England can keep Kylian Mbappe quiet, if that is even possible. And while you could talk all day about what one of the best players in the world could do to damage England, France have much more to them than their 23-year-old talisman.
As Luke Shaw said this week, it would be "naïve" for Gareth Southgate's side to centre their defensive plan on just one player, albeit a devastating one. Kyle Walker agrees: "The game's not England vs Mbappe, it's England vs France."
So where else do France's strengths lie - and where are their weaknesses for England to exploit? And just how good are Didier Deschamps' side overall, especially compared to the in-form England team?
France have breezed through the early rounds by scoring nine goals - but the main concern is at the other end of the pitch. Les Bleus have failed to keep a clean sheet in all four of their World Cup games so far.
It is no surprise that the France backline has been a little leaky given the overhaul it has been forced into since Deschamps first named his squad.
Key defender Presnel Kimpembe was ruled out of the tournament with injury, Lucas Hernandez picked up a long-term knee problem in the first match of the tournament while Benjamin Pavard fell out of favour midway through the group stages.
But one area of concern is goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who has developed a reputation of committing high-profile big-game mistakes in recent years for both club and country.
Lloris only faced three shots on target during his two group stage matches, but still let in two goals despite facing a combined Expected Goals Against (xGA) total of 1.2. It was the fifth-worst 'Goals Prevented' tally out of the 30 goalkeepers who played two games or more in the group stages.
In layman's terms, Lloris failed to protect his goal efficiently in the rare occasions he was called upon - his only two saves of the tournament so far have been very low xG shots - which is not an encouraging sign considering the World Cup's top scorers are up against him on Saturday.
The other concern at this World Cup for France is how their goals have been spread among the team. Out of their nine goals, five have been scored by Mbappe, the remaining four have been taken up by just two other players.
Compared to England, who have eight different goalscorers among the 12 strikes they have managed so far in Qatar, Les Bleus have relied on very few players to be the difference makers.
Both England and France have a similar profile of squad in terms of the blend of youth and experience. Les Bleus' average age of their 25-man squad is 27.3, England being ever so slightly younger at 26.8.
The difference between the two teams in this regard is that France's older players play a much more important role in their starting line-ups.
The two main old boys in Deschamps' side lie at separate ends of the pitch. While 35-year-old goalkeeper and captain Lloris is the main veteran at the back, Olivier Giroud is one of the star men up front.
Giroud became France's all-time record goalscorer in the last 16 win over Poland, with his tally of 52 eclipsing that of the great Thierry Henry.
The veteran forward is also integral to France's play given Deschamps' obsession with the penalty area. France have managed over twice as many shots on goal from inside the box (48) compared to outside the area (20). Arsenal and Chelsea fans will know how clinical the striker is when it comes to first-time finishes in that first zone.
Giroud has also spoken about his "bromance" with Mbappe, with the pair already combining twice for each other in this tournament. There's a reason where there is such a feel-good feeling when both players appear together: France have only lost four out of the 34 matches in which Giroud and Mbappe have played as a duo.
There's also an important role for Raphael Varane in this France team, with the 29-year-old defender acting as a leader among Jules Kounde, Theo Hernandez and Dayot Upamecano - all aged 25 or under.
The Manchester United defender's winning mentality, emanating from 18 trophy lifts at Real Madrid and the World Cup four years ago with France, was clear to see at half-time of the last-16 clash with Poland, which Les Bleus ended up winning 3-1.
"Varane had serious and fair words in the dressing room at half-time," Giroud said. "We were lucky Poland didn't score and we were ahead and it was a gentle reminder to fight and to remain solid and united.
"Rafa felt we'd relaxed our levels and we had to keep fighting. It's important to remain positive and he reminded us of that."
France were hoping to have the formidable duo of N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba available for this tournament, to add to that experience. Injury setbacks for the pair have allowed Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot into the limelight for this tournament.
Despite some pre-tournament concerns, everything has appeared to perfectly fall into place in the middle of the park for France. Tchouameni has been one of the shining lights of the World Cup so far, acting as the metronome at the base of Les Bleus' midfield.
No player has more interceptions than the 22-year-old so far in this World Cup, while only five players have completed more passes than Tchouameni, allowing for a 95 per cent accuracy rate.
Meanwhile, Rabiot has become one of the surprise packages of this tournament so far. The 27-year-old has suffered his critics at Juventus over the years and the midfielder even asked to be dropped from France's standby list for the 2018 World Cup, a choice which Rabiot later admitted was a big regret.
Now he is one of the more reliable figures in this France side and his hard work off the ball has been crucial to France's press. Tchouameni's astuteness behind him allows him to affect matters further forward, as well as acting in a tight pivot role.
"He's a player who is very important for the balance of the team," said Deschamps in the group stages. "He can win the ball back, he's strong, he can head the ball and he can score goals. I have to stop him getting forward too many times, which is fine."
How Tchouameni and Rabiot deal with Jude Bellingham and Jordan Henderson on Saturday night will also be a crucial factor.
In fact, one could even argue that France's midfield involves three players - as Antoine Griezmann has enjoyed a successful tournament in a deeper role closer to Tchouameni and Rabiot.
The 31-year-old has been taken away from his attacking midfield role and is hardly more advanced than Rabiot, who sits at the base with Tchouameni.
It has been a positive switch from Deschamps too, as while Griezmann is taking up areas of the pitch that are further away from the opposition goal, he has not lost any of his attacking influence.
The midfielder has created more goalscoring chances than any other player in the tournament (15), two ahead of his closest competitor Lionel Messi. No player in the tournament has won the ball in the final third more, nor entered the penalty area more than Griezmann, while he is also in the top 10 players in the World Cup for through-balls and completed final third passes.
Griezmann's technical ability has allowed France to unlock Mbappe's blistering threat from the deep areas the former occupies. In the first half of the 2-1 win over Denmark, Griezmann played a superb ball from inside his own penalty box to release the France No 10 on the break, only a last-ditch foul from Andreas Christensen stopped that clear-cut chance.
Meanwhile, the move for France's second goal against Poland came from Griezmann being the deepest player back for France, clearing an opposition break from inside his own area again - then the front three finished of the move.
It's a role that Griezmann doesn't mind taking on. "I can do many more things, but the coach has asked me to do a very precise role and the most important thing is to respect it," he said after France qualified for the knockout rounds.
"If I'm frustrated? Not at all, if we win the World Cup. If I have to stay back more, I'll have to do it."
When he does get forward, Griezmann helps create an overload on the France right alongside Ousmane Dembele - a two-pronged attack that has brought about success on that wing.
Dembele is only second to Harry Kane in assists from open play in this tournament, while Griezmann has completed more crosses (12) than any other player at this Qatar World Cup so far.
France's strength in depth has been often described as phenomenal - right throughout the pitch.
In the last World Cup, Dembele - a key figure in this France team now - was largely an unused substitute. At Euro 2020, Deschamps could afford to leave Giroud on the bench as a fresh option in reserve. The defence and midfield were regularly rotated in both tournaments to keep opponents guessing.
This World Cup was meant to be the one chance at mixing the trophy-winning experience of Varane, Kante and Karim Benzema with the all-star youth of today that includes Tchouameni, Kounde and Eduardo Camavinga to make a fiercely competitive France side. It hasn't quite worked out like that.
Injuries to Benzema, Pogba, Kante, Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku in the lead-up to the tournament meant some of the younger midfielders have been fast-tracked to key members of the squad.
The depth of the team has suffered as a result. In the three matches where Deschamps has used his 'strongest' XI in this World Cup so far, the France manager has only used the full quota of five substitutes just once - that was in the opening game against Australia.
It hints at Deschamps not being fully content with the options he has in reserve, particularly in attack. Marcus Thuram is their only other option should Giroud have an off day and while Kingsley Coman is a regular substitute - he has only been trusted with 15 minutes of action in each World Cup game so far.
The drop in quality of the France back-up stars was clear to see when a much-changed side lost their dead rubber group stage encounter 1-0 against Tunisia on matchday three.
Compare that to England, who could rely on the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, Mason Mount, Callum Wilson and James Maddison to freshen up the attack. Trent Alexander-Arnold is not a bad option going forward as well.
This World Cup quarter-final could well be decided from the substitutes' bench.
