England takes on France in search of second World Cup semi-final appearance since 1990.

Having swept Senegal aside for back-to-back appearances at the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals, the Three Lions are back against Les Bleus, looking for a second appearance at the semi-finals since 1990. England vs. France kicks off at 20:00 (GMT+1) on Saturday, December 10, at Al Bayt Stadium.

The Three Lions emerged victorious following the clash with the Lions of Teranga after a 3-0 win over Senegal. Having reached the quarterfinals in back-to-back episodes of the FIFA World Cup, England are now looking to reach the semi-finals for only a second time since doing so in 1990 when they faced West Germany at the FIFA World Cup in Italy. This will be the third World Cup meeting between England and France, with the Three Lions having back-to-back victories after a 2-0 win in 1966 and a 3-1 win in 1982. A victory here would see Gareth Southgate become the first English manager to guide England [DWDWW] to two World Cup semi-finals. The 52-year-old made a tricky decision to drop Marcus Rashford after the brace against Wales, moving Phil Foden to the left of Harry Kane to re-accommodate Bukayo Saka on the right in the now preferred 4—3—3. A similar shape with the trio in attack is anticipated for Saturday's clash. Meanwhile, Kyle Walker will shoulder the responsibility of keeping Mbappe quiet. "He's a great player [Kylian Mbappe], but I'm not going to roll out a red carpet for him," he said. Raheem Sterling remains unavailable due to personal reasons, while Callum Wilson and Declan Rice failed to join training due to minor injuries.

A fabulous 3-1 win over Poland saw France become the first defending champions to reach the quarterfinals since Brazil did so at the 2006 World Cup. A brace from Kylian Mbappe (74’ & 90’+1), coupled with an Olivier Giroud (44’) goal, saw France get past Poland despite a goal from Robert Lewandowski (90’+9 P.). Didier Deschamps [2012-?], who is the longest serving manager in Qatar, is looking to guide France into their third semi-final since they claimed the title as host country in 1998. Les Bleus [LWWLW] hope to escape defeat, having lost only once in their last eight meetings with England across all competitions [5W, 2D, & 1L]. Amid talks of a possible departure after the World Cup, Deschamps is poised to keep the 4—2—3—1 with Olivier Giroud in attack. Giroud became France's top scorer (52) following the goal against Poland, while Mbappe is the tournament's top scorer with five goals. The PSG forward failed to feature in a training session but is expected to be available on Saturday, according to reports from Sky Sports. The victor will face either Morocco or Portugal in a semi-final clash on December 14.