England v France - Sat 10th Dec, 19:00 | Quarter-final | World Cup 2022

[BigJoe#1]

Mbappe is brilliant, but so far he's come up against Australia, Denmark, and Poland. It's not like he's ripping apart 1970 Brazil.

France has conceded in every game and we're the top goal-scorers.

So even if Mbappe has a worldy, and scores 2 or 3... I'd still fancy England to score at least a couple and make a game of it. I just hope we don't shit ourselves and play a back 9. Let's go for it!

,,,, and England have come up against..? Iran, Wales the USA and Senegal. Top goal scorers courtesy of Iraq,

France are miles ahead of England, especially if Slabhead and Wilkins I mean Henshit play.

Old waistcoat won't have fuckin clue. and if you believe England can beat Brazil then its off to the funny farm for you my friend. Brazil absolutely took their foot off the gas second half and went into cruise mode tonight.

 

[Sk@mcfc]

Eiffel Tower is the right colour tonight at least

 

[Crooked_rain]

,,,, and England have come up against..? Iran, Wales the USA and Senegal. Top goal scorers courtesy of Iraq,

France are miles ahead of England, especially if Slabhead and Wilkins I mean Henshit play.

Old waistcoat won't have fuckin clue. and if you believe England can beat Brazil then its off to the funny farm for you my friend. Brazil absolutely took their foot off the gas second half and went into cruise mode tonight.

In all fairness, Korea played kamikaze football in the first half with their defence and tactics, or lack of. They’re a poor team that were lucky to get this far. Iran finished above Korea in the same group of the qualifying campaign. Brazil were good but most good teams would’ve done the same if Korea put it on a plate for them.

Brazil have yet to play a good side either. They’re a good side but you talk like they’re unbeatable. Let’s wait until they play a good team who aren’t going to roll over.

Same for France. People said they were gonna walk through everyone last year at the Euros and their first 11 was stronger then. They got sent home by Switzerland.

Every team is beatable on the night.

 

[prestonibbo_mcfc]

,,,, and England have come up against..? Iran, Wales the USA and Senegal. Top goal scorers courtesy of Iraq,

France are miles ahead of England, especially if Slabhead and Wilkins I mean Henshit play.

Old waistcoat won't have fuckin clue. and if you believe England can beat Brazil then its off to the funny farm for you my friend. Brazil absolutely took their foot off the gas second half and went into cruise mode tonight.

Don't you be so sure about France being miles ahead.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Well, I have you down for a win even though I have France in the work draw.
I think first goal will be crucial. The only trouble I see for England is Southgate will set you up not to concede it rather than to go and score it.

Im hoping for a cracker as I think you will take them in an open game, but ultimately you may be beaten by the fear of playing.

Either way. The best of luck.

 

[supercity88]

Agree mate. If England play well they can win this. I expect Phil to cause a lot of damage to the French defence.

I just hope we play with confidence. You see Brazil tonight and the way they stroke it about. They love the stage. Mbappe equally just wants to showcase his talents. We still have a fear of losing that can cause periods like the 30mins v Senegal. That comes from the manager and the history of English football internationally.

Hopefully Phil can go play his magical best and the likes of Bellingham stamp their mark and carry this team forwards. It's starting to look like a very very hard world cup to win. Luck, squad depth and spirit all key.

 

[iTyler]

England are a team of talented individuals doing their best to gel. There are too many sloppy breakdowns between defence and midfield, and midfield and attack. Our best work is usually between goalkeeper and defence. After that, we have lacked proper control and our play has been very patchy.

France move like a machine. On top form, they'll slice England apart between the lines if Kalvin Phillips isn't playing. Declan Rice is the weakest link imo.

Fortunately, to date, France look a long way from top form. If England get their act together, there's a decent chance of nicking a win.

Phillips for Rice
Rashford for Kane

England 2-1 after extra time. Let's get those nerves on edge!

Rice for weakest link?! On what planet?

I try to get that everybody has differing opinions but I really struggle to see what others somehow see at times. I mean, Jesus Christ.

Rice is rightly one of the first names on the team sheet when fit.

 

[iTyler]

Could be a blood bath this with Englands defence. If Mbappe switches sides and goes from the right. No way Maguire and Shaw will cope. Theres plenty of optimism going around but not a lot of realism.

France's backline, while better on paper, has hardly looked stellar has it? Every team they have played have had chances and none of them have anything like the attack we do.

Also, how annoying are people who think just because they have a different opinion it means everybody else is somehow being unrealistic. Far worse teams than England have beaten France in knockout games. Nothing unrealistic whatsoever in thinking we have a decent chance.

 

[iTyler]

It's interesting how people view things differently, I see the goalkeeper/defence as a strong weakness.

Pickford holds onto the ball far too long and it's only a matter of time before somebody pounces on him. His distribution appears hasty and erratic.

The defence playing out from the back often looks nervy and not at all confident, especially Maguire. I'm not trying to get on the 'Maguire bandwagon', it's just that he looks very suspect and not fluent on the ball, certainly compared to Stones next to him.

France are far too clinical to be offered cheap chances.

Well you would think and hope that England will be a bit more switched on from the off against team that can really hurt you like France. England were poor for half an hour against Senegal but I always had the feeling the players knew they were simply better and would start to turn the screw sooner or later. Which they did. We were never in any real danger.

I'm certainly no fan of Maguire but I can almost guarantee you he's nowhere near as slack with his passing on Saturday than he was against Senegal. The players will have a completely different mindset and concentration will be much higher from the off.

 

[Lavinda Past]

Rice for weakest link?! On what planet?

I try to get that everybody has differing opinions but I really struggle to see what others somehow see at times. I mean, Jesus Christ.

Rice is rightly one of the first names on the team sheet when fit.

I can only assume that you're a West Ham fan.

Rice is reactive and gets away with a lot of poor decisions. He doesn't (can't?) read a game, os frequently out of position, and offers little help to the defence.

He's got a lot to learn and is a long way from being an 'elite level' player. He's usually run himself out by 65 to 75 minutes and exposes the defence. As a DM, he's a weak link.

Phillips may not be the finished article yet, but he reads a game well and doesn't waste effort. He should start v France instead of Rice.