The Three Lions will cross the English Channel once more to battle with Les Bleus on Tuesday evening. The match will take place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. Kick-off is scheduled for 21:00 (9pm South Africa time).
The two sides have met 30 times previously – 23 of those being ‘friendly’ matches. Dele Alli and Wayne Rooney were on the scoresheet when England ran out 2-0 winners at Wembley in November 2015 in the most recent of these friendlies while the last competitive encounter saw the teams play out to a 1-1 draw at Euro 2012 in Ukraine.
Gareth Southgate’s men came away from Hampden Park with a precious point in their 2018 World Cup Qualifier against bitter rivals Scotland after a stunning pair of free-kicks from Leigh Griffiths looked to have sealed all three points for the home side until captain Kane stepped up at the back post to slot home the equaliser deep into stoppage time. Didier Deschamps side were not as fortunate. Despite taking the lead through Arsenal frontman Olivier Giroud, they slipped to their second defeat in qualifying as a Hugo Lloris’ howler allowed Sweden to nick a 2-1 win right at the death. Despite his costly error, the Spurs shot-stopper looks set to keep his place in goal for Tuesday’s friendly.
While there won’t be any points up for grabs when two of football’s giants lock horns, there will certainly however be lots of room for experimentation, both on and off the field. The ‘Video Assistant Referee’ or VAR will be trialled further after a rather successful stint at the recent Under 20 World Cup. Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton will earn just a third England cap at the age of 31. He is set to be included in the starting lineup for the national side for the very first time while Stoke’s Jack Butland who is returning from a long injury lay-off is expected to feature the second half. Southgate who will be taking charge of just his third match since being appointed on a full-time basis had the following to say ahead their 31st meeting against fellow one-time World Cup winners: “France is a great challenge for us. Our ambition with our friendly matches is to play the best possible teams – we’ve done that by playing Spain and Germany already. They’re teams we want to test ourselves against and these are great opportunities to learn and improve.”
Form Guide – Last 5 (most recent first)
France LWLWW
England DWLWD
Last 5 Meetings FRA vs ENG
17/11/2015 – England 2-0 France
11/06/2012 – France 1-1 England
17/11/2010 – England 1-2 France
26/03/2008 – France 1-0 England
13/06/2004 – France 2-1 England