Well-known journalist Roberto Morales told what he expects from one of the matches of the 1/4 finals of the 2022 World Cup, in which England and France will play today.
“This match will be the second at the World Cup in Qatar, when two giants, real heavyweights, meet. The first one between Spain and Germany was too cautious, and then a draw more or less satisfied both teams. Now someone has to get out of the way.
Under the leadership of Gareth Southgate, the team of the founders of football plays a rather simple and sharp football. This has its own rather original pragmatism, although the actions of this team cannot be called cautious. At least for now. After a super-successful victory over the Iranians in the opening round of the group stage, the British did not concede a single goal in the next three matches, winning twice with the same score of 3:0 and playing a dry draw with the Americans. However, Southgate knows for sure that his current opponent is extremely dangerous, if you give him space, overclocking. So Gareth has to make changes in the actions of his charges.
The French team both scores and concedes regularly. Didier Deschamps' team missed from the Australians, Danes, Tunisians and Poles, so there is no need to talk about the reliability of the defensive line of the reigning world champions. Although no one will call the Le Bleu game adventurous. France also compensates for defensive flaws with the help of an attack, having already scored nine goals, five of which Kylian Mbappe recorded at his own expense.
But it is worth remembering that Mbappe is the flag of the national team, which rests on the flagpole from Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele. The latter issues a super championship and plays incredibly sharply individually.
In official matches, these teams met seven times: two wins from both sides, three draws.
Also an interesting fact: the British have not defeated the French in official matches since 1982, when they won the World Cup in Spain with a score of 3:1.
My prediction: French victory,” said Morales.