France vs England
International Friendly Match
Date: Tuesday, 13th June 2017
Kick off at 20:00 UK/ 21:00 CET
Venue: Stade de France.
At the end of a draining season, the last thing a lot of these players would typically want is a meaningless international friendly. But there's always something special about two huge nations meeting one another.
There will be pressure on both sets of players to turn in a strong display here, too, as they each toiled for long stints of their previous matches.
France, in particular, haven't quite lived up to expectations in their recent qualifiers, and they suffered a potentially significant defeat late on against Sweden on Friday.
As relayed by Sport Witness, the French media were not pleased with the team's display:
Indeed, Didier Deschamps has struggled to instil consistency into the XI, and for all their attacking flair, they've lacked a spark in the final third.
The manager's team selections have left plenty scratching their heads, with some exciting young talent left on the bench in favour of experienced figures. This game should give the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Alexandre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso a chance to stake a claim for more regular starts.
Despite dropping two points, ESPN FC's Mark Ogden suggested this result may be enough to jolt England into life under their new boss:
They will certainly need to improve if they are going to emerge from the French capital with a positive result on Tuesday night.
There will be changes to the XI that started at Hampden Park, with the most significant one potentially coming between the sticks.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart has come in for criticism for not stopping Griffiths' free-kicks, and journalist Ste Hoare thinks the team should look elsewhere:
In terms of the depth of the two squads, there's no doubt France are superior. Subsequently, if both teams field much-changed outfits, it's Les Bleus' XI that will look the stronger of the two. In Mbappe, Dembele and Lacazette, they boast players with the explosiveness to cause so many problems for the England defence.
Under Southgate, the Three Lions have shown they can be resolute at the back, and that'll surely be their focus against their talented hosts. However, they don't boast the quality needed to keep the French forwards under wraps.
Prediction: France 2-1 England
France vs England: Head to head
The Three Lions have been much more successful in the history of head to head meetings as they lead the tie by nine wins ahead of their 31st clash with France.
This includes a 2-0 win for England in a friendly from November 2015 when Dele Alli and Wayne Rooney scored goals for the team then led by Roy Hodgson.
France vs England: Prediction
France have significantly improved ever since that clash since Les Blues became one of the most attractive sides in the world with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe.
The hosts will be much more motivated to fix the poor impression from the defeat to Sweden and we’ll back them to clinch the home win at 10/11.
