England and France have been the two best teams at the 2022 FIFA World Cup so far, but the bracket meets them in a marquee quarter-final in Qatar. After defeating Brazil in this round, the leading nation is likely to become the favorite to win the tournament.
The England v France clash qualifies for the final in Qatar, with both teams topping their respective groups and dismissing their Round of 16 opponents with relative ease. The winner will play either Morocco or Portugal in the semi-finals.
Despite several injuries to key starters, France have played like the defending champions, led by inspired tournament top scorer Kylian Mbappe and an in-form Olivier Giroud. Meanwhile, England look as strong as ever and midfielder Jude Bellingham looks like the missing piece of the team after their run to the semi-finals four years ago.
This is a match that many have been looking forward to in part because it has been a long time coming. The two European powers have not met since 2017 and their last competitive match in tournament play was over a decade ago in 2012.
England vs France Live Score
| Team | 1H | 2H | Final |
| England | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| France | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Goals:
FRA – Choumeny – 17 min
ENG – Kane – 54 min
FRA – Giraud – 78 min
Estimated lineups:
England (4-3-3 right to left): 1. Pickford (GK) — 2. Walker, 5. Stones, 6. Maguire, 3. Sha – 8. Henderson, 4. Rice, 22. Bellingham — 17. Saka , 9. Cain, 20. Foden
France lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Loris (GK) – 5. Kaunde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 8. Chouameni, 14. Rabiot — 11 Dembele, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappe – 9. Giroud
England vs France Live Update, 2022 World Cup Highlights
Full time: England 1-2 France. The former champions have reached the semi-finals! They will face Morocco on Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, England will return home. Harry Kane falls on his haunches and buries his head.
90 min +8: Mbappe dribbles down the left and looks clipped by Sterling. He wants a free kick, but the random decision generator says no.
90 mins +7: Stones looked in big trouble for a while there, so it’s good to see him back up and trotting down the sidelines. But he doesn’t continue, because he’s sacrificed for Grealis. One final roll of the dice.
90 min +3: Sterling swings in a cross from the right. An easy claim for Lloris, who then does the Pickfordian thing of flopping on the ground with the ball for a few precious seconds.
90 min: It’s not over yet… by a long shot, because there will be another eight minutes.
89 min: An angry Maguire is booked for elbowing Griezmann in the back of the neck. The referee’s performance tonight has been underwhelming, to say the least, but it was a no-brainer.
84 mins: Kane puts his foot through the ball again… only for it to fire wildly over the bar! It’s not quite Waddle-Esque… but it’s not far off.
82 min: Penalty to England! The referee goes to look at the monitor … then comes back and points to the spot! Only Hernandez is booked, as the mount was not in control of the ball and was therefore denied a goal-scoring opportunity. England isn’t down in angry France ten…but at least they’ve got a chance to save themselves!
78 min: Goal! to France (Giraud) England half clear the corner. The ball worked its way past Griezmann, who curled powerfully towards the near post at mid-height. Giroud gets ahead of Maguire and although he doesn’t make full contact, fires a header into the bottom left. Pickford, the hero seconds before, had no chance!
75 min: France hasn’t shown much in attack recently, but now Hernandez crosses from the left. Giroud fires a header wide from ten yards. chance Seconds earlier, Shaw ran into Giroud’s back, causing him to fall to the ground in the box. He made a half-arch claim for a penalty, but no one listened.
72 min: Shaw works down the left and turns down. Saka runs in from the right and prepares to blast home … only for Hernandez to get into the street and head the ball back to the left. In fact, the ball may have bounced back from Saka, as England does not receive a corner. They are looking very promising now!
68 min: Mbappe floats a diagonal pass towards Dembele, right inside the England box. Everyone expects a creamy volley, but Dembele instead tries a cushioned pass infield… especially nobody.
64 min: Neither coach has blinked yet. There is no sign of much movement on the benches. This game is really entertaining.
56 mins: Kylian Mbappe, as always, is in a hurry. This time he beat Kyle Walker to make an impact down the left for the first time tonight, got to the byline inside the penalty area, and cut in a cross in front of the goal that France couldn’t score on.
End-to-end entertainment. That England goal changed the momentum.
55 mins: Returned to France. Adrien Rabiot came down the left and fired a low initial shot into the far corner of Jordan Pickford’s net, forcing the goalkeeper to dive and palm the effort away.
England head coach Gareth Southgate points to his temples in the familiar way managers do, urging his team to focus on their joy at leveling the score.
54 min: Goal! to England (Kane) It’s an all-Spurs showdown: Kane vs. Lloris. A nervous pause. Kane re-spots the ball … and sends Lloris the other way, giving the penalty to the left side of the net!
52 min: Penalty to England! Saka breaks in through the hole on the right again. He makes it into a box. Tchouameni takes him down with a leg hanging out. The referee points to the spot this time!
46 min: Dembele makes a move to Bellingham, and as a result gets into the book. Bellingham sits down, twisting his knees.
Half time: England 0-1 France. On the break, Tchouaméni’s good long-range daisycutter is different. England thinks Saka should have been chalked up for a foul earlier and surrounds the referee as everyone walks down the tunnel. Or maybe they’re discussing with Kane about not giving a penalty for Upamecano’s tangle. Or maybe both. Regardless, they need to find something in the second half. As things stand, France will face Morocco this Wednesday evening!
45 minutes +1: First of four extra minutes.
43 min: Griezmann goes to the book for repeated fouls. The straw that broke the camel’s back: A damning clip on Walker in midfield.
42 min: Mbappe tries to turn Stones down the left but brilliantly brushes the floor… and legally. The referee told Mbappe to get up as Stones came off the ball. The England fans enjoyed it.
37 min: Varane launches a long pass down the left for Mbappe, but Walker comes to the block to send the ball safely back to Pickford.
33 min: Ah, here he is. Bellingham carelessly passed straight to the French star. Mbappe dribbles his way down the left, but runs into a cul-de-sac as Walker and Bellingham, the latter tracking down for his mistake, double up to stop him.
30 min: Foden takes a corner. The ball lands in the six-yard box, and gets stuck in the middle of a comic-book cloud between boots and clenched fists. Even a sausage on a fork. Kane can’t fight his way through the bedlam to poke home, and France finally manages to hack his collective leg clear.
26 min: No, VAR says play on. I am assuming that the contact was outside the box, in which case it was only a foul and a free kick, not a penalty, and therefore VAR cannot intervene.
25 min: Kane dribbles into the France box from the right wing and falls to the ground. He gets up and claims the fine. Upamecano of course tangled with him from behind. To check VAR. It seemed to be a clear contact, and it may well be in line. The big moment is here!
21 min: Saka wins the foul this time, brought down by Rabiot as he dribbles purposefully infield from the right. D. Shaw takes a free kick on the right and curls it softly into the arms of Lloris.
17 min: Goal! England 0-1 France (Choumeny) Upamecano picks Saka’s pocket with embarrassing ease and slides down the left flank. His friends follow. Mbappe runs the ball down the right, then cuts through Dembele and Griezmann for Chouameini, who sends a sensational diagonal dezicutter down the left from 25 yards! What a strike!
13 min: France is enjoying the lion’s share of possession. “Keine drei ohne zwei is poppycock!” Splutters to Helmut Eckart. “All gutten dinge sind drei! A true German saying.”
8 mins: England regained possession. Harry Maguire attempts a diagonal ball from close to the halfway line towards Saka on the right, failing to find his range correctly to avoid a delivered bounce for a goal kick.
Both sides will take encouragement from this start. It has been lively.
6 mins: England has their best chance of the game when Foden is bundled down the touchline on their left.
Shaw’s shot from just beyond the midway point of France’s half toward the far post
3 mins: England attack now, Saka advancing through the center towards the penalty area. The Arsenal livewire tries to keep a low pass toward Kane, and France is clear.
Kick-off: France started the game with the ball out to England on their left for a throw-in. This is how we do it!
5 minutes from kick-off: The players are out of the tunnel and on the pitch! England sings their anthem first.
England vs France lineup, team news
With every player available, all indications from the English media are that manager Gareth Southgate is expected to name an unchanged line-up from the one that handled Senegal 3-0.
That means sticking to a four-man backline to go up against France’s dangerous front four. There had been speculation that the Three Lions might be better off with another centre-back to tackle France’s vaunted attacking line, but that does not appear to be an option under consideration.
England (4-3-3 right to left): 1. Pickford (GK) — 2. Walker, 5. Stones, 6. Maguire, 3. Sha – 8. Henderson, 4. Rice, 22. Bellingham — 17. Saka , 9. Cain, 20. Foden
Several reports in France say manager Didier Deschamps will also repeat the lineup that beat Poland 3-1 in the Round of 16. This fits in with how the team managed the title in 2018, sticking to a mix of players. Seems to be working well together.
France lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Loris (GK) – 5. Kaunde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 8. Chouameni, 14. Rabiot — 11 Dembele, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappe – 9. Giroud