Giroud’s words before the game
“You have to find the right balance between relaxation, motivation, determination and not being inhibited by the event, says Giroud at the microphone of TF1. We can’t wait for it to start. Since the match against Poland, it’s a new competition , you have to have strong nerves. It can be played at the last moment, on penalties as we have seen in previous matches. We will have to give everything for France tonight “.
The Blues arrived at the Al Bayt stadium
Kick off in an hour and a half!
A look at the Les Bleus locker room
As expected, the France team will evolve with its home tunic.
The French supporters are gradually arriving
French supporters begin to arrive gradually around the Al Bayt stadium, some with original costumes to say the least. They mostly follow the Morocco-Portugal match in front of the giant screen. A little 19 degrees outside the stadium, much cooler weather than in recent days in Doha.
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The composition of the Blues to face England
Here is the composition of the France team to face England:
Lloris – Koundé, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez – Tchouaméni, Griezmann, Rabiot – Dembélé, Giroud, Mbappé
F H
The English have identified Koundé as the weak point of the Blues
If the English press has identified Hugo Lloris as the Achilles heel of the Blues, the staff of the Three Lions is not of the same opinion. This week, Gareth Southgate and his men have set up an attacking strategy for this game. In this plan, Jules Koundé is identified as the most fragile element of the defense. It should be the privileged passage of the English to reach the French goal.
Moreover, in the midfield, Jude Bellingham will be responsible for annoying Aurélien Tchouameni. A beautiful duel in perspective between two circles whose coast continues to climb in Europe.
Finally, in the locker room of the British, optimism reigns. The English think they have a very good chance of going through, even if they value the France team. Are they right? Verdict in a few hours.
Fabrice Hawkins in Doha
More information here.
Macron challenges British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before clash
Emmanuel Macron already in his match. The President of the Republic challenged British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Twitter before England-France.
“Dear Rishi Sunak, I’m looking forward to tonight’s match, he wrote. If the Blues win (they will win!), you will wish us good luck in the semi-finals… right? “
Courbis would try a tactical move
What if we did everything to make the plan for England fall through? According to our consultant Rolland Courbis, it would be a huge gift to England to align Kylian Mbappé on the side of Kyle Walker, considered across the Channel as the number 1 weapon to stop the French attacker.
“We have to look at the use of Mbappé (…) the English think we are stupid enough to put Mbappé in Walker’s zone? In 2018, Mbappé played the World Cup on the right. We have to put Dembélé – who is as comfortable on the right as on the left – on the side of Walker and Mbappé behind Giroud in a role of nine and a half”, suggests coach Courbis.
This position would not only allow Mbappé to get rid of the claws of Walker, considered to be the most capable of blocking him, and also to find himself in the area of Harry Maguire, who has been in great difficulty in recent months and who is not the fastest of the English. “This player (Maguire) cannot resist Mbappé in his zone for me, so we will apologize to the English, but we will put him in his zone.”
The tactical move that Courbis would attempt to surprise the Three Lions
What if we did everything to make the plan for England fall through? According to our consultant Rolland Courbis, it would be a huge gift to England to align Kylian Mbappé on the side of Kyle Walker, considered across the Channel as the number 1 weapon to stop the French attacker.
“We have to look at the use of Mbappé (…) the English think we are stupid enough to put Mbappé in Walker’s zone? In 2018, Mbappé played the World Cup on the right. We have to put Dembélé – who is as comfortable on the right as on the left – on the side of Walker and Mbappé behind Giroud in a role of nine and a half”, suggests coach Courbis.
Meanwhile, Benzema back in training… with Real Madrid
As announced in recent days, Karim Benzema resumed training with Real Madrid this Saturday. In recent days, the French striker has benefited from several days of vacation after his withdrawal from the World Cup due to a left quadriceps injury.
Two Blues under threat of suspension
Two players from the France team will play with a kind of Damocles sword above their heads, this Saturday (8 p.m.) during the quarter-final of the World Cup against England. Jules Kounde and Aurelien Tchouameni are indeed under the threat of a suspension for a possible semi-final since they have already been warned during the competition.
The English will approach this match without pressure from this point of view since no player is under the threat of suspension for a potential semi-final in the event of a warning.
As a reminder, all the counters will be reset to zero in the last four. “A player who receives a second yellow card during the tournament is suspended for the next match, recalls Fifa. After the quarter-finals, all yellow cards collected up to that point will be cancelled, which means that a player cannot miss the final if cautioned in the semi-final.”
Brad Pitt will support the Blues
In an interview at Parisian this Saturday, before the quarter-final of the World Cup against England, Brad Pitt judged that the French football team was “beautiful to watch”. The American actor nevertheless regrets the absence of Karim Benzema but still thinks that the Blues remain “strong” without him.
“Let’s make French toast”: the English press launches the shock this Saturday morning
Before the clash between the French team and the Three Lions this Saturday (8 p.m.) in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, the English press is torn between a certain confidence and the fear of facing Kylian Mbappé. This does not prevent some well-felt puns.
Renowned for its headlines, the tabloid The Sun on the front page the face of home striker Harry Kane… on a piece of toast. With this message: “Let’s make french toast (French toast, editor’s note), guys”. The minimum expected from a newspaper which launched hostilities by trolling the Blues with a giant advertising campaign in the streets of Paris.
>>> The complete press review here
The probable composition of the Blues
The France team should logically appear on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against England, with the same starting lineup as against Poland in the eighth.
The probable composition of the Blues: Lloris – Koundé, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez – Griezmann, Tchouaméni, Rabiot – Dembélé, Giroud, Mbappé
Which opponent for the winner of the clash?
The winner of England-France will face Wednesday evening (8 p.m.) the winner of the other quarter-final of the day between Morocco and Portugal (4 p.m.).
>>> And to follow Morocco-Portugal, it’s here
Hello and welcome to this live
It’s the shock that everyone was waiting for or even hoping for when the table for this World Cup was unveiled: a clash between France and England, so common in rugby, and so rare in football, particularly in the World Cup.
After each finishing at the top of their group, France and England respectively got rid of Poland and Senegal in the round of 16, both without really shaking, and almost on the same score, despite an unfortunate penalty at the end of the match against the Blues.
It might be tempting to reduce the game to a clash between Walker and Mbappé, but both teams have shown they are damn well equipped in every position.
The winner of this quarter-final will meet in the semi-final the winner of Morocco-Portugal, which takes place a little earlier.
The composition of the two teams should be communicated around 6:30 p.m. Kick-off at 8 p.m., on BeIN Sport and TF1. To follow of course also on RMC, official radio of the World Cup. And of course, live commentary on the RMC Sport website and app.