England’s players have been asked one question over and over again as they prepare to face France in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. How do you stop Kylian Mbappé? Hardly surprising, given Mbappé is the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals and is widely considered the man to succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as soccer’s biggest star. “I’m sure England will have prepared to face Kylian,” France coach Didier Deschamps said at a news conference Friday. “But Kylian is in the position to make a difference. “Kylian is Kylian and he always will be.” There is no sense of France trying to manage the expectations of its star player, even as the hype surrounding him grows with each stellar performance in Qatar. He has already scored one more goal than the four he managed as his country won the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the round of 16 in Qatar, he struck twice as the defending champions beat Poland 3-1, with two thunderous shots past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. “He cannot be compared to other players,” France defender Dayot Upamecano said. Read: England vs France Quarter-final Preview: FIFA World Cup 2022 Mbappé is being depicted as an unstoppable force in Qatar — something England defender Kyle Walker pushed back against this week. “I don’t know how to say it even more: I feel he is a top player. I’m not underestimating that one bit, but we are not playing tennis, it’s not a solo sport,” he said after being faced with a series of questions about the Paris Saint-Germain striker. England captain Harry Kane on Friday praised Walker, who also was his teammate at Tottenham for several years, as “a fantastic defender. He’s been probably the most consistent right back there has been for the last 10 years.” But France’s players seem happy to feed the narrative that Mbappé is simply unstoppable. “If he (Walker) can stop Kylian Mbappé, good for him,” said midfielder Youssouf Fofana. “But 19 other teams in Ligue 1 have been waiting for the solution. The truth will come from the pitch.” Walker will have the job of trying to limit the damage Mbappé can inflict on England’s defense at Al Bayt Stadium. But rather than merely trying to contain France’s biggest threat, discussion this week has been about how bold Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate is prepared to be in response. England reached the semifinals in 2018, losing 2-1 in extra time to Croatia when trying to protect an early lead. “Whether we had the full belief to go and win the tournament, I’m not quite sure,” Kane acknowledged. Read: FIFA World Cup 2022: England crush Senegal 3-0 to secure spot in quarterfinals England also led early in the European Championship final last year, finishing 1-1 with Italy and losing the penalty shootout at home at Wembley Stadium. Again, Southgate was criticized for a too-cautious approach. “I very much like Gareth. If I understand correctly, not everyone appreciates him so much in his own country,” noted Deschamps. Southgate’s team has played with more freedom at this World Cup, with a more attacking style leading to 12 goals in four games to tie Portugal as leading scorers. Southgate has opted to play with a back four so far, but could switch to a five-man defense to try to cope with Mbappé. “Nobody was complaining about us playing a five before we reached the Euros final,” said Walker. “I think it’s a bit harsh to judge him on what we’ve done previously. I think at this tournament we have been playing good attacking football and scoring a lot of goals.” After coming close to a title twice with Southgate, Walker believes England is ready to win this time. Beating France, he says, would be evidence of that. “It’s a great opportunity to put a stamp down and to say that we are a good team and we can achieve great things, and give us the belief that we can win this,” he said. “I’m not saying we don’t believe, but to beat a big team like that in a quarterfinal, they’re the reigning world champions, that will give us great confidence — not arrogance but confidence.”

France has never beaten England in a head-to-head match in the history of the World Cup. The English are far ahead in the overall fight between the two teams in the World Cup. But as of recent years, French has been ruling the football world. With such an atmosphere and context, the current world champion France will face England, who played in the last season’s semi-finals in the high-voltage quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022. Let’s take a look at the England vs France match preview to get to know more. England vs France: Head-to-Head records so far A total of 31 fights took place between England and France’s 100+ years old rivalry, of which England led with 17 wins, while France won nine. Five matches have been drawn. The two teams have met 11 times in the last three decades, with the French leading the way. However, England has won twice in the World Cup. England defeated France 2-0 on the way to the World Cup title in 1966 and 3-1 in the group stage of the 1982 World Cup. France won three in the last five matches, England won one, and the remaining match was drawn. The French are hot favorites in this World Cup and will start today’s match as a favorite. England’s performance so far in the 2022 World Cup England has scored 12 goals in 4 matches so far in this World Cup. Which is their joint highest in any major tournament. In 2018, they scored 12 goals on their way to the semi-finals of the Russia tournament. England is advancing with power; in the round of 16, they beat Senegal by 3-0 goals. However, history tells us that England’s departure from the quarter-finals has become a rule. Previously, the English had to leave the last eight in the World Cup in 1954, 1962, 1970, 2002, and 2006. They left the tournament after losing to a European team in six of the last eight World Cups. Nevertheless, it is certainly admirable for England to go through three World Cup matches without conceding a goal. Coach Gareth Southgate now has another chance. As the first coach of the Three Lions, he can be the pioneer of England reaching more than one semi-final. Among the English players, Harry Kane is now the highest goal scorer for England in a major tournament. The English captain surpassed Gary Lineker when he scored a goal against Senegal. Kane has 7 goals in total, compiling the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. He also assisted 3 goals in this tournament. So, all eyes will be on him. There is no potential injury update for the England team. Hence, England will start the match with all the major players.  England’s players to watch:  Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford. England’s players carrying yellow cards:  None. Read More: Morocco vs Portugal Quarter-final Preview: FIFA World Cup 2022 France’s performance so far in the 2022 World Cup On the other hand, France has played in the quarter-finals in five of the last seven seasons, including the last three World Cups. Coach Didier Deschamps’ side has won eight of their last ten knockout rounds against European teams. Despite such success, they have some aspects of criticism. Because France has conceded goals in all four matches played so far in this World Cup. The champions will have to think more about this matter. Before this, France played twice against England in the 1966 and 1982 World Cup and lost each time. But they are ahead in recent performance. Kylian Mbappe will be France’s trump card. He has scored five goals in 4 matches so far. The forward surpassed his 4 goals scored in the last World Cup. Mbappe showed his class at the World Cup in Russia. Statistics show that France has won all nine World Cup matches where Mbappe played in the starting XI. France is playing in the quarter-finals as the first title defender after Brazil in 2006. As the defending champion, Italy went into the 2010 tournament and left on the group stage. Spain, the champion of the tournament, was eliminated from the group stage in 2014. Germany, which won the title in 2014, had a similar situation in the last edition. Like England, France does not have any injury report. However, there were rumors that Mbappe did not come to the last training of the French because he felt some discomfort in his ankle. However, the matter was later denied. France’s players to watch: Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, and Hugo Lloris. France’s players carrying yellow cards: Jules Kounde, Aurelien Tchouameni. Probable squad in the England vs France Quarter-final match England's probable starting squad Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw, Henderson, Rice, Bellingham, Saka, Kane, Foden. Probable starting squad of France Lloris, Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Dembele, Greizmann, Mbappe, Giroud. Quarter-final's England vs France Match Result Prediction England has won just one of their last eight matches against the reigning champions. According to The Analyst’s supercomputer’s prediction, France has a 40.3% chance to win the game in 90 minutes, while England has 32.4%. However, there is a 27.3% of chance that the game will proceed to a penalty shootout. Venue of World Cup 2022 Quarter-final England vs France match? France and England will fight on the field next Saturday (local time) to get a place in the semi-finals. The matchup between the title holders and former champions will start at 1 am Bangladesh time at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. Read More: FIFA World Cup 2022: Quarter Final Overview Final Words The England vs France Quarter-final match is sure to be a thrilling one, with both teams having strong players and impressive recent performances. Ultimately, the result of this match is unpredictable and could go either way, but no matter who reaches the semi-final of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the fans of both teams can expect an entertaining match.