France have dominating record over England… and Kylian Mbappe on their side

A fixture befitting a World Cup final kicks off at the Al Bayt Stadium as England face France in the quarter-final.

England secured an exceptional 3-0 victory over AFCON champions Senegal, while reigning champions France overcame Poland to keep their hopes of back-to-back titles alive in the last 16.

Bagging a total of twelve impressive goals in the tournament so far, England have now started to dream of lifting a first major trophy since 1966 and Gareth Southgate is determined to end all the years of hurt by securing his own record.

Southgate is looking to become the first England manager to guide the nation to two World Cup semi-finals, having reached the final four in 2018.

The Three Lions’ only other two semi-final appearances at the finals came under Alf Ramsey in 1966 and Bobby Robson in 1990.

However, it may not be easy for the 52-year-old to achieve such a record as Didier Deschamp’s men won’t go down quietly, especially with their star player eyeing up the golden boot.

France’s talisman Kylian Mbappe has fired his way to the top of the World Cup scoring charts with five goals, ahead of England stars Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka – both on three.

All eyes on Manchester City full-back Kyle Walker, will he be able to stop the PSG forward from adding to that tally?

So, will it be ‘It’s Coming Home’ or ‘Allez Les Bleus’ playing at full-time?

talkSPORT EDGE takes a look…

• This will be the third World Cup meeting between England and France, with the Three Lions winning both of the previous two, a 2-0 victory in 1966 and 3-1 in 1982, both in the group stage

• France have only lost one of their last eight meetings with England across all competitions (W5 D2). This is the two nations’ first encounter since June 2017, when Les Bleus won a friendly 3-2

• England have been eliminated from six of their last eight World Cup knockout matches against fellow European nations. Whereas, France have progressed from eight of their last 10 World Cup knockout matches against European opposition

• France will be the first reigning champions to participate in the quarter-final of the World Cup since Brazil in 2006. France have won three games at the 2022 World Cup so far, while that Brazil team from 2006 (4) are the only reigning champions to have won more in a single tournament this century