England and France face off in a heavily anticipated 2022 World Cup quarter final on Saturday.
The Three Lions have looked good in wins over Iran, Wales and Senegal but came unstuck against the USA in a goalless draw, while Les Bleus have triumphed over Australia, Denmark and Poland alongside a dead-rubber loss to Tunisia.
The two sides also share World Cup history, having met in the competition previously. Here’s how the games between England and France have played out over the years.
There have been two previous meetings between England and France at the World Cup, both of which the Three Lions won.
In 1966, England overcame France 2-0 thanks to a brace from Roger Hunt. Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Charlton had goals disallowed for offside – one correct and the other incorrect in retrospect – while nuggety midfielder Nobby Stiles got fired out.
The former Manchester United midfielder threw a punch at Les Bleus’ Robert Herbin, clattered firstly into Bernard Bosquier for a booking and then Jacky Simon, who was left on the floor while England scored their second.
England would go on to win the 1966 World Cup, beating West Germany in the final after extra time. France finished bottom of Group 1 with no victories and were eliminated.
The two sides would then meet at the 1982 tournament. England charged through the first group phase with three wins from three games, one coming against France.
Bryan Robson scored after just 20 seconds at San Mames before Gerard Soler equalised with a nice half-volley. Robson grabbed his second in the 67th minute, heading in Trevor Francis’ cross, before Paul Mariner concluded the scoring at 3-1.
However, France would fare better for the rest of the tournament. They beat both Austria and Northern Ireland in the second group phase before being beaten on penalties in the semi finals by West Germany. They lost the third place playoff 3-2 to Poland.
Having shown razor-sharp attacking instincts in their first three games, England drew blanks in goalless draws against West Germany and Spain to exit the competition before the semi finals.
France have fared better against England at the Euros as opposed to the World Cup. They are unbeaten against the Three Lions, drawing twice alongside one victory.
A game which involved the likes of Eric Cantona, Jean-Pierre Papin, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker somehow ended goalless in 1992, Neither side got out of their group that year as outsiders Denmark shocked the continent.
England somehow lost to France in 2004. Frank Lampard headed in what looked like being the winner for most of the game until Zinedine Zidane curled in a free kick before converting a penalty, stealing all three points for Les Bleus.
The 2012 meeting wasn’t quite as star-studded. Joleon Lescott rose highest to nod in the opener, but Samir Nasri fired in before half time for a 1-1 draw.
England lead the head-to-head standings with 17 wins to France’s nine, with five draws. However, those numbers are somewhat inflated by the Three Lions’ dominance in the early stages of international football.
France have enjoyed the more recent meetings, losing just one of the last seven games. That came when Dele Alli and Wayne Rooney scored in a 2-0 victory at Wembley in 2015.
The most recent encounter came in 2017, when Harry Kane’s double was cancelled out by strikes from Samuel Umtiti, Djibril Sidibe and Ousmane Dembele.
Credit: 90min.com