After their 3-0 victory over Senegal in the last 16, England fans were starting to dream of the 56-year wait for World Cup glory finally coming to an end.
Of course, there is still a long way to go and some opposing supporters have already accused England supporters of being arrogant, they can be excused for harbouring high expectations.
After 1966–70 and 2002–06, this is the third time in history that England has advanced to the quarterfinals of three consecutive major tournaments.
It was another significant victory for England manager Gareth Southgate over his detractors. Since replacing Sam Allardyce, Southgate has led England to six knockout victories in major tournaments, which is the same number of victories the Three Lions achieved from 1968 to 2016.
But there is still a lot for England to work on as they found themselves under the cosh against Senegal, offering up a couple of big opportunities, before goals Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka sealed the 3-0 win.
This weekend’s match between England and France, the reigning world champions who are still vying to become just the third country to retain the World Cup trophy, will likely mark the end of their tournament for many.
France had some narratives to overcome at the beginning of the tournament, not the least of which was the defending champions’ recent poor record, but six points from their three group stage games put an end to that.
France’s heavy rotation for their final group stage match against Tunisia, which they lost 1-0, raised some concerns that they might have lost some momentum, but any worries were allayed in the round of 16.
Up against Group C runners-up Poland in the last 16, France blew their opponents away thanks to a brace from Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud’s record-breaking strike, only conceding late on from a penalty that Robert Lewandowski had two attempts at scoring.
1×2 Betting Odds
France are slightly the favourites to win this, given their exceptional team. Their odds stand @ 2.48.
England are the slight underdogs in this, with odds standing @ 3.28.
The chances of a stalemate after the 90 mins are played, stands @ 3.25.
This will be a fantastic match, and whoever wins win surely feel their chances of winning the World Cup boosted!
Total goals over/under
The odds that the total number of goals score will be over 2.5, stands @ 2.3.
While the odds that the total number of goals will be under 2.5, stands @ 1.74.
