France vs England preview

June 12, 2017
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

All eyes will be on Stade de France on Tuesday evening as old rivals France and England square off in an international friendly.

Les Bleus are still reeling from the shock defeat to Sweden, whereas the Three Lions somehow managed to avoid defeat to rivals Scotland.

Having missed the opportunity to lift the European Championship title on home soil, France shifted their focus towards the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Les Bleus kicked off with a surprising share of spoils in Belarus, but then won four straight games to grab the Group by the scruff of neck.

However, France were beaten by Sweden on Friday night as Hugo Lloris’ last-gasp howler allowed the opposition to score the unlikely winner, meaning the two sides are now tied at the top of the standings.

The mood in the Les Bleus camp was pretty gloomy after said defeat, but a friendly win over England would definitely improve the atmosphere, with home win paying 19/20.

Tiemoue Bakayoko, Yohan Cabaye, Kevin Gameiro and Laywin Kurzawa have all been overlooked, while Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Lemar are pushing for starting positions.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Lloris – Sidibe, Varane, Koscielny, Digne – Pogba, Kante – Mbappe, Griezmann, Lemar – Giroud.

Following yet another failure at major tournaments, England have fared well in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, but the job is nowhere near being finished.

The Three Lions sit just two points clear of second-placed Slovakia and things could have been even worse had Harry Kane not scored deep into injury time to deny Scotland the win few days ago.

England were on the verge of defeat as their rivals overturned a one-goal deficit thanks to Leigh Griffiths’ free kicks, but then the new England captain came to the rescue, cooly converting Raheem Sterling’s cross.

The Three Lions will now hope to prove their worth when facing one of Europe’s strongest sides, although Gareth Southgate is set to ring some changes to the starting line-up.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is pushing for a start after a good cameo role, while Joe Hart will make way for one of Butland, Heaton or Forster.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Forster – Trippier, Stones, Gibson, Cresswell – Chamberlain, Dier – Sterling, Alli, Lallana – Kane.

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