England are preparing for their toughest test at the Fifa World Cup in Qatar, the reigning champions France. The two historical rivals will clash in Saturday’s quarter-final at the Al Bayt Stadium in what is gearing up to be one of the games of the tournament.
The Three Lions and Les Bleus were both tipped as two of the tournament favourites before a ball was kicked and so far they have shown why. We have seen some moments of great quality from the two teams over the last two weeks and an interesting battle lies ahead.
France’s biggest dangerman is undoubtedly the devastating Kylian Mbappe and he is one of England’s biggest challenges in this upcoming tussle, but the Three Lions’ key battle lies in the midfield.
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The two nations both boast strong midfields and they have each been to their progression in Qatar. England’s well-balanced trio of Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Jordan Henderson have been excelling together, while Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni have been very dependable for Les Bleus. France were written off by many to go to Qatar and retain their World Cup title once it was confirmed that they would be without two of their star midfielders from Russia four years ago, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.
Of course they have been key absences for Didier Deschamps but it has not been as detrimental to their chances in Qatar as many predicted. Rabiot has been a surprise in terms of how reliable he has been while Tchouameni has been equally as dependable.
But France’s most important cog in the middle of the park has been Antoine Griezmann. The petite superstar who traditionally plays in attack has been the crucial piece of the jigsaw in Deschamps’ midfield. We have seen the Atletico Madrid attacker drop deeper than usual on the pitch to act as the connector between the defence and attack.
His contributions have largely gone under the radar due to Mbappe’s brilliance in front of goal. But without Griezmann, Mbappe wouldn’t have been able to receive the ball in such good positions. It has been great for the player because his career as a forward has been on the decline in recent years with his underwhelming time at Barcelona and limited game time back at Atletico earlier this season because of a previous contract clause. But Deschamps has given him a new lease of life in this new role which has allowed him to flourish and get back to his best on the field.
The 31-year-old still has grace on the ball and the qualities that used to make him a troublesome forward have transformed him into one of the highest-performing midfielders at the World Cup. Mbappe may be France’s biggest talent but Griezmann has been Les Bleus’ most influential player in the Middle East. Against Poland in the last 16, Griezmann made his 71st consecutive appearance for France, a French record, which just highlights how important he has been for Deschamps.
Griezmann has combined the roles of a number eight and a 10 in his new role in a similar way to England's Bellingham. He comes deep to receive the ball or get stuck in when his side are out of possession. When he does have the ball he will drive it forward, pass it off to a teammate before getting it back in a more advanced position. Then the mind of the creator switches on as he analyses the best way to set free Mbappe or Ousmane Dembele to do what they do best.
Away from the training pitches in Al-Wakrah, England boss Gareth Southgate will be obsessively studying France’s tapes from the World Cup so far and he will see that the key to victory for his side is by finding a way to suppress Griezmann.
Bellingham has been applauded for his performances in the tournament so far due to his qualities as an all-round midfielder as well as his incredible energy levels. He could be the person Southgate turns to try and counteract Griezmann in the game, but he could also turn to the defensive shield of Rice to deal with the Frenchman to prevent Les Bleus from getting into any rhythm and thus depriving Mbappe of chances.
It’s not going to be easy to keep Griezmann quiet with the confidence he has, but England’s midfield has got a better chance than most to deny him the chance to dictate a game at this World Cup.
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