Only three French players from the 2018 World Cup champions would make a combined France and England starting XI ahead of their quarter-final showdown, according to FIFA data.
Gareth Southgate’s men punched their ticket to the World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar with a stunning 3-0 victory over Senegal at the Al-Bayt Stadium in the last 16.
England have not lost a single match in the tournament so far, with the Three Lions only being held to a 0-0 draw by the USA in their second Group B match.
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France, on the other hand, suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Tunisia in their final Group D match, but the defending World Cup champions remain one of the favourites.
However, Didier Deschamps’ men swept aside Poland in a routine 3-1 win in the last 16 and have benefited from the superb form of France star Kylian Mbappe.
OLBG has now used FIFA data to determine which players would make a combined XI between France and England, with Southgate’s men coming out on top.
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Using each player’s fantasy points from the official FIFA World Cup website, OLBG found that eight England players would make the combined XI.
Jordan Pickford would start between the sticks ahead of France captain Hugo Lloris, with England also dominating the defence.
According to the findings, Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has surprisingly accumulated the most points between each team.
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The England centre-back, who has faced stinging criticism over his United form this season, also has the fourth-most points for any defender at the World Cup.
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Maguire’s United teammate Luke Shaw also made the cut, with the England left-back’s points total making him the sixth highest-rated defender in the tournament.
Joining Maguire and Shaw is England teammate John Stones, but Barcelona star Jules Kounde managed to lock down the right-back spot for France with six points.
Moving further up the pitch finds in-form England midfielder Jude Bellingham partnered alongside France midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
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Bukayo Saka’s fantasy points haul is the fourth-most points for any player at the World Cup, with the Arsenal starlet securing his place in the combined XI.
Manchester City star Phil Foden is also in the attacking line-up thanks to his 18 points, despite only playing in three of England’s four matches so far.
Joint-England top scorer at the World Cup Marcus Rashford is leading the frontline with none other than Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe.
Mbappe, who is leading the race for the World Cup Golden Boot ahead of Lionel Messi, has received the most points at the tournament with a whopping 38-point total.
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England vs France kicks off at 7pm UK time at the Al-Bayt Stadium on Saturday.
Topics: England, France, Football World Cup, Football
Adnan Riaz