Cyrille de la Morinerie (in Doha), edited by Juliette Moreau Alvarez 11:26 a.m., December 08, 2022

100% European meeting on Saturday, with the clash of England and France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

If Kylian Mbappé is scary on the English side, the Blues are betting on the expertise of Olivier Giroud to break the English defense and trap captain and striker Harry Kane.

The long-awaited meeting is approaching.

On Saturday, France faces England for the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, to be followed live on Europe 1 Sport from 7:15 p.m.

On both sides of the field, the teams are diligently preparing to outsmart the opponent.

On the English side, you need everything except Mbappé.

On the side of the Blues, we rely on the secrets of Olivier Giroud to triumph.

After nine seasons in the English league, the French striker can make a difference.

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"A team with references"

Among the Blues, he is the finest connoisseur of the English game.

For nearly ten years, Olivier Giroud evolved in England.

First in London, then at Chelsea, he came out with a good record: four English cups, a European League and the apotheosis, with the Champions League.

Now in Milan, Olivier Giroud will meet his English clone, striker and captain of the Three Lions Harry Kane, on the World Cup field.

"He's tall, he's powerful, he has a very good heading game and he also plays very well with his back to goal," admits the Frenchman.

"There are similarities but we still have a seven-year difference," laughs Olivier Giroud.

At the age of 36, the Blues record holder can also count on Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé by his side.

Nevertheless, Harry Kane is also very well surrounded in selection, underlines the assistant of Didier Deschamps, Guy Stéphan.

"Like a lot of very good teams in this World Cup, [England have] players who go very fast down the flanks. I'm thinking of Foden, Rashford, Sterling and others. It's a team that has references."

The English have in particular on their counter a semi-final of the World Cup in 2018 and a final of the Euro a year and a half ago, enough to build a good obstacle against the blue wave.