World Cup 2022: Reasons for England to be confident of beating France

The Three Lions overcame a slow start to ease past Senegal 3-0 in their last-16 battle at the weekend courtesy of goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka.

A semi-final showdown with either Morocco or Portugal will await England should they deny France back-to-back world titles, but they face the biggest test of their mettle yet against the reigning champions.

Here, Sports Mole looks at three reasons for England to be confident of coming out on top and moving ever closer to international stardom.

World Cup record

Saturday's quarter-final represents the third World Cup showdown between England and France, and the Three Lions enter the contest with two wins under their belt from their previous two encounters on the biggest international stage.

France's futile attempts to stop Al Ramsey's 1966 juggernaut did not bear fruit in the group stage 56 years ago, as a brace from Roger Hunt propelled England to a 2-0 win in their inaugural World Cup meeting with Les Bleus.

Sixteen years later, England and France would once again lock horns in the group stage of the 1982 tournament, where Bryan Robson scored a brace of his own alongside an effort from Paul Mariner in a 3-1 success for the Three Lions.

England's overall head-to-head record against Les Bleus is nothing to write home about, as France have only suffered one defeat in their last eight meetings with the world's fifth-ranked nation, but channelling the spirits of World Cup luminaries gone by would serve the Three Lions well here.

Record goalscorers

National team records have been bread and butter for Southgate since the 52-year-old became the latest brave soul to handle the poisoned chalice, and the England manager has already tied a World Cup record with the current Three Lions crop on the goalscoring front.

Indeed, England have already racked up 12 goals in their four World Cup matches so far - an average of three per game - which has seen them equal the previous Three Lions record for the most goals in a major tournament.

Coincidentally, Southgate's crop of 2018 set that record of 12 goals in Russia, and just one more strike would see England's current team - who are never short of options in the final third - write their name into the history books.

As well as team accolades, Kane also needs just one more goal to go level with Wayne Rooney at the top of England's all-time scoring charts after bagging his 52nd strike in the win over Senegal, and his 11 goals for the Three Lions at major tournaments is also an outright record, having left Gary Lineker (10) in his wake.

Furthermore, France are yet to keep a clean sheet at the 2022 World Cup, and the likes of Foden, Saka, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling - who could be available for Saturday's game following a break-in at his home - can feel extremely confident of denying Les Bleus a first shutout of the tournament.

Clean sheet streak

Southgate's selections will always lead to questions and criticism from sections of the England fanbase, but his defensive choices - in particular his unwavering loyalty to Harry Maguire and reluctance to bring Fikayo Tomori in from the cold - are perhaps the most scrutinized.

There are plenty of Arsenal and Newcastle United supporters out there who also believe that Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope should be number one, but Southgate has arguably got his defensive calls spot on in the World Cup so far.

Despite seeing his side hit Iran for six on the first Group B matchday, Southgate was left bitterly disappointed after his side conceded two late goals to Mehdi Taremi, but they have since kept three successive clean sheets against the USA, Wales and Senegal.

Not many arguments can be had about Maguire's demotion to the Manchester United bench, but the aerially dominant centre-back has been one of England's best performers at the tournament so far, and Jordan Pickford continues to prove his worth in between the posts - making a pivotal save from Boulaye Dia against Senegal with the game goalless.

Such defensive acumen will be tested to the maximum against top scorer Kylian Mbappe and his supporting cast of Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, but England have done enough to suggest that they can stifle the champions' attacking prowess, although maybe not for the full 90 or 120 minutes.

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