THE stage is finally set.
England will take on France in the quarter-final in the toughest game of the World Cup for the Three Lions so far.
The defending champions have looked excellent throughout the tournament.
Despite a slip-up with a heavily rotated side against Tunisia, France have been scintillating to watch.
Didier Deschamps’ Les Blues have always really pragmatic in games. However, France have been anything but in Qatar this time, looking extremely expansive in matches.
England, on the other hand, have maintained a tinge of pragmatism about their play which was seen in the goalless draw versus the USA in game two.
But the 2018 semi-finalists have been lethal in front of goal, bagging 12 goals in four matches, more than any other side.
While England have impressed at the tournament, Gareth Southgate and his players will still need to prove that they are capable of going toe-to-toe with the best teams on the grandest stage.
Saturday evening’s match is the perfect opportunity to do so by knocking out the current holders of the crown, but it certainly won’t be an easy challenge.
Total Football Analysis has decided to look at three key tactical areas where this gargantuan quarter-final can be won and lost.
Will Southgate change formation?
Before the tournament, many expected Southgate to keep with his preferred 5-2-3 formation which was disastrous in recent times, relegating England down to Pot B of the Uefa Nations League after failing to win a single match in the competition.
During these Nations League matches, Declan Rice would partner with Jude Bellingham in the middle of the park.
But since there were only two central midfielders, Bellingham’s role was rather restrictive as he was being tasked with helping his partner to build up play.
Nonetheless, when the line-up was announced before kick-off of England’s opening clash with Iran, many supporters and pundits alike were pleased to see Southgate changing the formation to a 4-3-3.
This Pep Guardiola-inspired shape would allow the Three Lions to have more control during games even if it meant ceding a little security at the back by losing an extra central defender.
The tweak worked wonders. England have dominated possession in every game so far and it has also meant that Bellingham can push further forward where he excels the most, on the right of a three-man midfield.
However, there is still a tinge of doubt amongst England supporters that the 4-3-3 will be the formation that Southgate deploys throughout the tournament.
In all four games in Qatar, the Three Lions have been the heavy favourites to win and have been allowed to have the majority share of possession.
A new-look French team, spearheaded by a prolific and hungry Kylian Mbappe won’t afford England the same luxury and so Southgate’s side will find it much harder to be the dominant team in this quarter-final tie.
France are a possession-heavy team too and so England may have the minority of the ball for the first time at the 2022 World Cup. This may cause Southgate to rethink his lineup.
Kyle Walker has started the past two matches versus both Wales and Senegal despite Kieran Trippier’s superb displays against Iran and the USA.
It’s almost as if Southgate anticipated facing France and so has been preparing to get Walker fit to drop him back in as a third centre-back alongside John Stones and Harry Maguire.
Trippier should resume his role as a wing-back on the right.
Against tougher opposition, Southgate has almost always preferred to line his players out in a 5-2-3 which may be set to make a return, much to the anticipated displeasure of the general public.
One thing the formation does do is enhance England’s security at the back and would allow both Walker and Trippier to track Mbappe and Theo Hernandez on the left who have both been electric at this tournament.
France’s left-sided attacking threat
England and France can be seen as quite well-matched on paper regarding the quality of the players but what the former don’t have is someone in the ilk of Mbappe.
The Frenchman is currently the top goalscorer at the World Cup with five goals in total across four matches and is arguably the best player in the world right now.
As discussed in the previous section, stopping Mbappe may lead Southgate to changing his formation for the game, reverting to a back five.
But why has the Paris Saint-Germain star-boy been so dangerous in this World Cup?
It would be redundant to pass off his wonderful displays as merely being a result of his immense quality.
While of course this is true, Deschamps has used Mbappe really well on the left alongside the near-sided full-back Theo Hernandez.
Hernandez’s starting place in the team came to down to chance.
His brother, Lucas Hernandez has always been preferred by the head coach and even started against Australia during France’s opening game.
However, a torrid start to the match which led to an unfortunate injury gave the French a strange stroke of luck.
Theo Hernandez came on and provided an assist to level the scoring and has been instrumental in the team’s success since.
Mbappe has found an ideal partner in the AC Milan defender. The duo have been vital to breaking down deep defensive blocks like the rigid structures they faced against Australia and Poland.
The idea behind Deschamps’ attacking system is to use both Hernandez and Mbappe to constantly rotate positions.
This offers France fluidity in the final third which can cause disorganisation and confusion within the opposition’s defensive block.
The most common usage of the duo is by having Mbappe inside in the halfspace, the area between the opposition’s full-back/wing-back and the nearest central defender while Hernandez is hugging the touchline out wide.
It is from this exact move that France opened the scoring versus Poland.
Once Mbappe received the ball in a pocket of space, the former Monaco product slipped it inside to Olivier Giroud who ran in behind, noticing the Poland centre-back was out of position.
The 35-year-old ended up bagging France’s opener and became the nation’s all-time top goalscorer too.
On other occasions, it is Hernandez that pushes inside in a slightly more inverted role while Mbappe drifts out to the touchline on the left.
The duo even overlap too and are constantly asking questions of the opposition’s defence.
England will need to have a plan to combat this rotation between Mbappe and Hernandez as the partnership has potential to rip Southgate’s backline to shreds if the Three Lions aren’t careful.
Perhaps going with a back five and using both Walker and Trippier is the best solution for England, although this would take away some attacking threat from the EURO 2020 finalists.
Transition game
Both teams have very similar tactical styles and coaches.
While Deschamps has been far more successful on the international stage as a manager, both England and France are excellent in possession, solid out of possession and deadly on the break.
The likelihood is that this game will be won and lost on whether the two teams can stop each other’s counterattacking prowess.
Against Senegal, England scored two goals of the three from transitional moments despite registering more than 60 percent of the share of possession in the match.
England are extremely direct during counterattacks. Jude Bellingham is the dangerman for Southgate due to his ability to carry the ball through oncoming pressure.
The Borussia Dortmund starlet has had a sensational tournament so far and has looked most dangerous when carrying the ball on the break.
England’s second goal was the perfect example of Bellingham’s threatening nature when the side are counterattacking.
Like England, France are also menacing when counterattacks arise. Les Bleus have players such as Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele who are nightmarish for defenders, particularly when a backline is exposed in transition.
Against Poland, France’s third goal came from this exact situation as Deschamps’ men managed to break away and isolate the Polish backline in a three versus three situation.
It is highly likely that this game will be won or lost from counterattacking moments and so it is of the utmost importance that both teams can find security when these scenarios arise.
So what does this all mean?
The quality on show will be a pleasure to watch across both sides and even on the sideline.
While Deschamps has more skin in the game and a heavier weight to his name, Southgate can pull off one of the biggest victories of his career by knocking out the reigning champions.
It is probable that England will be much more cautious in this match given the talent within their opponent’s ranks.
But if Southgate manages to concoct the perfect game-plan with the help of the execution from his players, England may be able to book their place in the semi-finals for the second consecutive World Cup.