England are preparing for their World Cup quarter-final tie this evening as they face France. The Three Lions last faced the French at the tournament in 1982, when a brace from Bryan Robson and a third from Paul Mariner claimed a group stage victory.
England have enjoyed a brilliant campaign so far, with a large number of Manchester United and Manchester City players featuring in Qatar. Their 3-0 win over Senegal saw a backline of two players from each club, while Phil Foden played on the left alongside Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka.
The five stars are all yet again in contention to start against France this evening, with Kyle Walker set the difficult task of stopping Kylian Mbappe. Ahead of the highly anticipated match, The Telegraph have ‘leaked’ Gareth Southgate’ starting line-up to take on Didier Deschamps’ side.
1. Jordan Pickford
The 28-year-old has three clean sheets in four matches
2. Kyle Walker
Walker was brought into replace Kieran Trippier against Wales and Senegal
3. John Stones
The Man City defender is a permanent fixture in England’s backline
4. Harry Maguire
The Man Utd centre-back has found some form during the World Cup