In many ways, neither of these teams know exactly where they’re at right now.
Although Laurent Blanc has rebuilt the French and conditioned an evolving team, the nature of that evolution means there are still a few inconsistencies. As they illustrated in the recent 3-2 win over Iceland, they can be exceptional and awful in the same match. Similarly, a potentially brilliant attack is offset by a poor defence.
By contrast, you can essentially throw all of England’s relatively impressive qualifying form out the window. They must adjust to a new manager, a different approach, a number of key absences and, of course, all the turmoil that has engulfed their squad.
At the least, though, Roy Hodgson seems to have given them a somewhat solid base, as was suggested in the 1-0 friendly wins over Norway and Belgium.
Such minimalism, though, is likely to be the story of their campaign. But, against France, they’re going to be facing a much better attack.
It’s difficult to quite see an English team staying so resolute or providing enough attacking spark to actually beat a French team that, at the moment, look a level ahead of them.
This match, however, is likely to see a few errors. And that means there’s potential for goals. France’s attack should get more of them.
Prediction: France 2-1 England
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