FIFA World Cup 2022: England’s costly cautious approach against France – tactical analysis

With most big nations suffering unbelievable upsets in this World Cup, England and France entered the last quarter-final with a real chance to win it all. After shocking the world by eliminating Spain, Morocco sent Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal back home in the other quarter-final of the bracket. While the African nation is far from an easy task, the winner between England and France had a real chance of going all the way. The stakes were as high as ever, and the opportunity for ultimate glory was enticing.

It was France who came away with the win, but the match was a fascinating tactical battle between the two European powerhouses. The tactics set the stage, and the stars led the show. Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni opened the score with a beautiful shot from outside the box. In the 54^th minute, Tottenham centre-forward and 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner Harry Kane put England level with a penalty. To secure a spot in the semi-final, Olivier Giroud finished a beautiful cross from Antoine Griezmann with 12 minutes to go.

Upon a closer look, however, it was France’s effectiveness that guaranteed them the win. Despite England’s volume, France remained in control of the match and successfully executed Didier Deschamps’ game plan. This tactical analysis will explore the tactics behind France’s win over Gareth Southgate’s England. Specifically, this analysis will take a look at Southgate’s tactics in the match, and how the French overcame them.

Lineups

Before starting, let’s take a look at both countries’ starting XI. First, with France, Didier Deschamps kept the same eleven from their win over Poland. In their usual 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 hybrid, Deschamps went with Hugo Lloris in goal, and Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, Raphaël Varane, and Theo Hernández as the back four. The backline was rather asymmetric, as Hernández provides much more attacking support than Koundé. In the midfield, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot sat behind Antoine Griezmann as a free-roaming 10. Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé flanked Olivier Giroud in the attack.

For the Three Lions, Southgate’s team selection was quite uncertain. Many believed the English manager would switch to a 5-3-2, in order to deal with Kylian Mbappé. He did adapt his tactics to deal with the PSG star, as we will see later. However, Southgate deployed the same 4-3-3 from the Senegal match.

Jordan Pickford was the number one behind Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, and Luke Shaw. Declan Rice was the single pivot behind Jude Bellingham and Jordan Henderson, and up top, Harry Kane was flanked by Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden.