- 18 Dec 2024
England vs France: Lineups & transfer values for World Cup clash
England vs France tonight is the most anticipated match of the2022 World Cup so far, and we've broken down the two lineups and their massive transfer values.
The Three Lions have statistically been the best team in Qatar so far, scoring more goals than any other side and coasting into this quarter-final showdown unbeaten.
France have also been very impressive and are the favourites with many to retain the trophy they won in Russia in 2018.
World Cup 2022: Teams, fixtures, results, favourites
England vs France lineups: Starting XIs for WC blockbuster
France lost Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema to a thigh injury before the World Cup started and also saw Lucas Hernandez ruled out for the rest of the tournament in the 4-1 win over Australia.
As for England, Ben White and Raheem Sterling both flew home for personal reasons, though Sterling returned this week after his house was burgled by armed robbers. Callum Wilson has a minor muscle strain.
Jordan Pickford will start in goal for England, protected by a back four of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.
Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson will sit deeper in central midfield and allow Jude Bellingham to push forward more.
The front three will likely be Bukayo Saka on the right, Harry Kane in the centre and then Phil Foden on the left.
As for France, they are unchanged from their 3-1 win over Poland.
Hugo Lloris will be in goal, with Jules Kounde and Theo Hernandez at full-back. Raphael Varane and Dayot Upamecano continue at centre back.
Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot will be the central midfielders, with Antoine Griezmann the number 10 ahead of them.
Tournament top scorer Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele will provide the pace on the wings, with record France goalscorer Olivier Giroud as the striker.
Below are the confirmed starting XIs together with their transfer value as per FootballTransfers.
England Confirmed Lineup & Transfer Values
Jordan Pickford: €25.8m
Kyle Walker: €20.2m
John Stones: €36.5m
Harry Maguire: €33.6m
Luke Shaw: €9.9m
Declan Rice: €67.5m
Jordan Henderson: €24.4m
Jude Bellingham: €88m
Bukayo Saka: €59.7m
Harry Kane: €89.4m
Phil Foden: €125m
England Total Squad Value: €580m
France Confirmed Lineup & Transfer Values
Hugo Lloris: €15.8m
Jules Kounde: €60.8m
Raphael Varane: €42.4m
Dayot Upamecano: €46.5m
Theo Herndandez: €58.8m
Aurelien Tchouameni: €60.6m
Adrien Rabiot: €22.3m
Ousmane Dembele: €41.6m
Antoine Griezmann: €36.4m
Kylian Mbappe: €147.3m
Olivier Giroud: €5.5m
France Total Squad Value: €538m
Who are England's best players?
We have skill ratings for every single player thanks to our unique algorithm which tracks a ton of different metrics to analyse performance for every game.
Manchester City star Foden leads the way for the Three Lions right now with a stellar rating of 93.9, followed by Sterling (91.7) and Kane (88.3). Worth every penny of that massive transfer value.
Who are France's best Players?
Again we have ratings for every single player in the Les Bleus squad, and right now it is headed by PSG megastar Mbappe on 92.2. Again matching up with his transfer valuation.
Everybody knows Mbappe is the big threat to England's hopes - one of the most heavily asked questions on search engines in the UK this week was 'is Mbappe injured?'. Sadly for England fans, he is not.
England vs France kickoff time and TV channel
The England vs France 2022 World Cup quarter-final kicks off at 7pm UK on Saturday December 10. That is 8pm CET, 2pm Eastern Time in the United States and 11am Pacific.
In the UK you can watch the game on ITV or stream it on the ITV Player, while in the United States you can watch the big showdown on FOX.
Who is the referee for England vs France
The man in the middle will be 40-year-old Brazilian Wilton Sampaio.
England vs France head to head
These two famous footballing nations have met 31 times to date, with the record currently standing at England winning 17, France winning 9 and 5 games ending in draws.
There have been only two past meetings in the World Cup finals - in 1966 and 1982.
In the first of those meetings some 56 years ago, a pair of Roger Hunt goals gave England a 2-0 win en route to their only World Cup title to date.
Sixteen years later England and France opened their 1982 campaigns at San Mames in Bilbao, with two Bryan Robson goals setting England on the way to a 3-1 win. Robson's opener was timed at just 27 seconds and remains one of the fastest goals ever at a World Cup finals.
More recently, the last 5 games look like this:
June 13, 2017: France 3 England 2 (Friendly)
November 17, 2015: England 2 France 0 (Friendly)
June 11, 2012: England 1 France 1 (Euro 2012 finals)
November 17, 2010: France 2 England 1 (Friendly)
March 26, 2008: France 1 England 0 (Friendly)
So France have won 3 of the last 5 meetings, with England taking one and the other finishing in a draw.