By Steve Pedry  10/12/22

England To Name Unchanged Line-Up Against France

England are poised to announce an unchanged lineup to face France in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday night.

Gareth Southgate will stick with the personnel and formation that have served England well so far, dismissing worries over whether he would use a back three against better opposition.

In an attacking move, the Three Lions manager is expected to stay with his 4-3-3 formation rather than reverting to a more defensive set-up, as had been predicted for this match.

Following England's 3-0 victory over Senegal, it appears that the approach is simply to not alter what isn't broken.

This means that Jordan Pickford will start in goal once more. Luke Shaw will play left back, Kyle Walker will play right back, while Harry Maguire and John Stones will play centre back.

Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, and Jordan Henderson will form England's midfield despite Rice's illness earlier this week.

While in attack, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka will continue to play the flanking roles to striker Harry Kane.

Raheem Sterling has returned to the camp after returning to England following a break-in at his family's house, although he is expected to be named to the bench.

The Chelsea attacker returned to the United Kingdom last Sunday after learning that his home in Surrey had been targeted, causing alarm for his family.

When asked if Sterling could be named as a substitute, Southgate replied, "Well, I would guess, absolutely."