Gareth Southgate has named an unchanged starting XI for tonight’s World Cup quarter-final clash with France in Qatar. Harry Kane leads the line, along with Phil Foden and Bakayo Saka, while Jordan Henderson, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice make up the England midfield. Southgate stuck a confident note heading into tonight’s game,
Gareth Southgate said: “The biggest thing for me in the game is going to be our mentality. We’ll of course be tactically prepared. But on these nights you’ve got to have men that stand up and take on the challenge. That’s the bit that we’ve got to prove to people. We’ve had some outstanding nights and the next game is always the most important. It’s against a good level of opponent, one we’re ready for. One, if you’d asked me four years ago were we quite ready, I’m not sure. Now I feel differently about that, and that’s because we’ve got evidence over a long period of results. Historically we have always talked well, but the evidence wasn’t there. Now we’ve got more evidence and we’ve got to go and nail this type of game now.”
Newcastle’s Nick Pope and Callum Wilson were also named among the substitutes. France were also unchanged, with Mbappe, Giroud, Griezmann and Dembele all starting.
