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How to watch and odds Date: Saturday, Dec. 10 | Time: 2:00 p.m. ET Location, England face their toughest battle until now in the 2022 World Cup as they are set to clash
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Two of Europe’s best teams are going head to head today at the World Cup as France and England battle it out for a spot in the semifinals.
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Thanks to star players on either side, both teams have sailed through the tournament thus far, winning their groups and easily beating the competition in the round of 16. Today, one will go home and the other will get within scoring distance of the World Cup trophy.
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Looking to watch England vs. France online in the U.S. today? Read on. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best ways to live stream England vs. France — including a couple of options that let you watch England vs. France for free online (legally).
How to Watch England vs. France Online Free With a VPN
If you already have a VPN set up on your streaming device, you can use it to watch England vs. France online for free by setting your location to the U.K. and streaming the match on ITV.
If you don’t have one, we highly recommend getting a VPN to watch every World Cup game online for free through BBC and ITV in the U.K. If you’re unfamiliar, VPNs (virtual private networks) let you change your device’s location to another region, letting you legally access any streaming content not available in the U.S. (such as free World Cup live streams in the U.K.).
The England vs France live stream will be shown on many different channels across the world. But what if you're not in your home country and want to watch it on your usual service?
The answer is to use a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN will let you tune into your home coverage from wherever you are — meaning that if you're abroad, you can use one of the best VPN services to watch the games live as if you were in your lounge.
Our favorite right now is ExpressVPN
(opens in new tab)
, thanks to its combination of superb speed, great customer service and excellent device support. It also offers a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you could check it out without having to sign up long-term.
How to watch the England vs France live stream in New Zealand
Kiwis can access the England vs France live stream via Sky Sport
This costs $60.98 NZD per month, or you could go for the Sky Sport Now
service, which gives you just the Sport channels but for a reduced cost of $19.99/week, $39.99/month or $399/year.
Not at home in New Zealand right now? You can still follow every game of the World Cup 2022 by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN
ENGLAND VS FRANCE PREVIEW
England started their round of 16 match against Senegal a little nervy with multiple stray passes and lapses in defences, perhaps suggesting the Three Lions were having an off-day. But a wonderfully worked Jordan Henderson goal on 40 minutes calmed things down, and from that point on England’s place in the quarter-finals looked all but guaranteed.
Eventually running out 3-0 victors it was overall another satisfactory performance from Gareth Southgate's men. They have yet to replicate the lethal attacking display presented in their first World Cup 2022 game against Iran, but right now it's hard not to class England as among the favorites to win the whole tournament of the remaining eight teams. But reigning world champions France will be England’s toughest test at a major tournament for almost a decade, and could bring the dream of football coming home to a swift end.
The margins are tight, but Les Blues just about come into this game as the favorites. That’s primarily because of one man: Kylian Mbappé. Not just the best player in this impressive France squad, but almost certainly the best player of the tournament overall, Mbappé is leading the scoring charts with five goals to his name. His brace against Poland in the last round was proof of his immense talent, and if England are to win this match stopping Mbappé will be a necessity.
However, while they’ve never looked in danger of elimination, France have shown some uncharacteristic vulnerabilities at this tournament. They’ve failed to keep a single clean sheet and initially went a goal behind to Australia in their opening group game. The French also lost to Tunisia in the group stages, but this result came after heavy squad rotation so can be somewhat explained away.
Inside the ground - atmosphere building
SunSport's Dan King reports from Al-Khor:
The tension here at the Al Bayt Stadium has gone up a notch with that news from the Al Thumama.
Loud cheers in the media cafe after the final whistle went, but not from the English contingent so much.
It feels like such an opportunity to reach a World Cup final. Yet England have to beat France first. And then the team that has overcome Spain and Portugal in the last two rounds.
Moroccan fans, along with the Argentinians and the Mexicans, have provided this tournament with most of its soul and passion. It's a seismic day for football already, and the big game still to come.
Winners of the World Cup in 2018, France are a tournament-smart team with quality in just about every area, especially up front. Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé is an attacking trio that would give any defense nightmares. When paired with Mbappé, it’s hard not to see England’s backline being breached at some point.
Fans of either team will surely be glued to the screen for the entire match, but neutral viewers will also want to tune in. The England vs France match is the type of showdown that makes the World Cup so special; two powerhouse teams compete with everything on the line. You won’t want to miss this one.
ENGLAND VS FRANCE TEAM NEWS
England could be boosted by the return of Raheem Sterling. The Chelsea winger had to leave the England camp due to a family issue but is reportedly eyeing up a return in time for this game. Southgate also has a big call to make in midfield, Jude Bellingham seems a certainty to start but will he be paired with Kalvin Philips or Jordan Henderson? There are also reports that Southgate may switch to a five-at-the-back system in an attempt to combat France’s wealth of attacking talent. However, could this prove a costly mistake? An overly cautious approach was credited for England’s elimination at World Cup 2018 and failure to win Euro 2020 against Italy.
French soccer fans would have been greatly concerned by reports that Kylian Mbappé missed training earlier this week, but it’s believed this was just precautionary and he should be fit enough to play against England. This will sparkle joy for Les Blues, but serious disappointment for the Three Lions. France are little light in midfield due to the pre-tournament injuries to N'Golo Kanté and Paul Pogba, but Aurélien Tchouaménii of Real Madrid and Adrien Rabiot of Juventus have barely put a foot wrong at World Cup 2022 so their absence hasn’t proved to be the critical issue some expected.
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