Jamie Carragher believes just three England players would get into France’s starting line up ahead of their quarter final clash at the Qatar World Cup.
Gareth Southgate’s side will go into Saturday evening’s tie as slight underdogs as they take on the world champions.
And Carragher believes that only a trio of Three Lions are good enough to force their way into Didier Deschamps’ side.
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“It is essential for England to stay bold and deal with the occasion by imposing their qualities because – player for player – they are disadvantaged when it comes to the experience of delivering the killer touch in games of this magnitude,” Carragher told the Daily Telegraph.
“We cannot ignore that France has more high-class footballers accustomed to winning the biggest prizes in club and international football.”
Carragher: Only three English players would get into France’s XI
And Carragher believes that only Kyle Walker, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane would get in France’s starting XI.
“When tasked with selecting a combined England/France XI, you realise how well blessed Deschamps is, even with so many injuries. For me, only Walker, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane would make the France starting line-up,” Carragher added.
“France’s back four consists of defenders from Bayern Munich (Dayot Upamecano), Barcelona (Jules Kounde) and AC Milan (Theo Hernandez), while Manchester United’s Raphael Varane was a multiple Champions League winner at Real Madrid.
“Central midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni was a huge signing for Real last summer who has made the European champions stronger, and although right winger Ousmane Dembele’s move to Barcelona has not been a huge success, we have seen glimpses of the qualities that made him a £100-million signing.
“He will fancy his chance of causing Luke Shaw problems. Bakuyo Saka may eventually eclipse Dembele – possibly in the next 36 hours – but he is still relatively early on his journey to the very top.”
Carragher’s England/France combined XI
So, based on Carragher’s comments we can conclude that his England and France combined XI looks like this.
Hugo Lloris gets the nod over Jordan Pickford in goal, while Walker is the only Englishman in a back five.
Bellingham joins Tchouameni in a young and exciting midfield duo.
Carragher insists that Dembele is better than Saka and joins Kylian Mbappe and Kane in a front three.
Carragher: England’s bench can win them the game
However while Carragher admits France have a stronger starting line-up, he believes England can use their strength in depth to progress to the semi final.
“If this sounds too downbeat about England’s chances, there is one critical advantage Southgate can exploit,” Carragher added.
“If France have a superior starting XI, England have a better 16-man squad if both sides use their full allocation of substitutes.”
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