Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final will be the first time England and France have ever played in a knockout football game.
Even though England and France are neighbours and have had a long history of fighting and mistrusting each other, tonight’s World Cup quarter-final between the two countries doesn’t seem to have much going on.
When the rugby teams of the two countries meet every year in Le Crunch, no love is lost. However, recent political events have soured the Entente Cordiale, which has been in place for more than a hundred years.
In football, however, the rivalry has been missing something. French players and some English fans tend to fight more with each other than with the other team.
Maybe it’s because the teams haven’t played each other much at past World Cups and European Championships. In fact, they’ve never even met in a knockout match.
Because of this, France hasn’t left England with the same kind of mental scars that Argentina, Germany, and even Portugal have done over and over again.
This weekend, though, a spot in the semi-finals is at stake in Qatar, which has gotten people excited on both sides of the Channel.
“People are very excited,” says Jean-Pascal Arigasci, who has been a sports reporter for the country’s most popular daily newspaper, Ouest-France, for almost 30 years.
“Fifteen million people watched the last game against Poland on TV. That’s a big crowd for France. There might be 20 million for this game against England.
In rugby, we’re used to having Le Crunch every year because it’s part of the history between the countries. In football, though, it’s very different because the teams don’t play as often. It’s always a treat to play England, but after Brexit, it’s even more so because the relationship is different.
When England played France in a friendly in 2015, a few days after the Paris attacks, the arch at Wembley was lit up to show solidarity.
Relations hit a new high seven years ago when France went to England for a friendly game just a few days after the Paris terror attacks, which killed more than 100 people.
On a sad night, the Wembley arch was lit up like the French flag, and English fans sang La Marseillaise together as a show of solidarity that was greatly appreciated.
The Premier League, on the other hand, has always welcomed French players and coaches, such as Eric Cantona, David Ginola, Arsene Wenger, Gerard Houllier, Thierry Henry, and N’Golo Kante.
In reality, the fact that there isn’t much difference between the countries internationally has a lot to do with the fact that France has been competing at the highest level for most of the last 25 years while England has just been getting by.
In that time, Les Bleus have won two World Cups and one European Championship. In eight matches against England, they have only lost once.
The last time England beat France in a semi-competitive setting was in 1997 at Le Tournoi de France, a small tournament that was a dress rehearsal for the World Cup the following year.
Didier Deschamps and Gareth Southgate lined up on opposite sides that day, and they will face each other in the dugout this evening.
France, who is the current champion, is the favourite to move on, but everyone agrees that England is now a rival on the world stage.
“The French players don’t worry about going up against the English. “They are more excited than scared,” Arigasci says.
“We feel like both teams are very similar for the first time in a long time. Both England and France have very, very good offences.
“Their midfield is good, with good young players and one experienced player, just like France’s. And defence is both teams’ weak spot.”
After both teams won their last-16 games on Sunday, French media were excited about the idea of playing England this week.
Even though facing Mbappe is scary, it turns out that the French think England’s Kyle Walker could hold their star back.
“It’s not a good memory for Mbappe because PSG played Manchester City in the Champions League and Walker did well,” says Arigasci.
Even if England beats the odds, it doesn’t look like it will hurt too much.
He says, “I don’t think people here will be upset if England wins. Since 1966, England has to wait. They haven’t won many titles. In 1998, 2018, and the Euros, France won. I think it’ll work out.”
