France wary of England's pace and set-piece threat in World Cup quarter-final

AL RAYYAN, Qatar: France will have to be on their toes when they face England in their World Cup quarter-final clash as their opponents have players capable of hurting them on the counterattack and at set pieces, coach Didier Deschamps said on Friday (Dec 9).

The teams have not met at a major tournament since they drew in the group stage of Euro 2012, but the focus has very much been on the game between two countries that share a sporting rivalry.

Deschamps, who has won the World Cup with France as a player and coach, said he did not see many weaknesses in the England team but they did have some "slightly less strong points".

"Pace is often one of the keys - when you are quick then the opponents have less time to get organised. But you need more than just pace to score goals," Deschamps said ahead of Saturday's game at the Al Bayt Stadium.

"You can stop a lot of things but it is very difficult to stop someone very quick, especially in transitions.

"England are very strong in transitions - more than half of their goals have come from quick counterattacks. But they have other qualities too - they have technical ability, the capacity to score goals and ability on set pieces."

The spotlight has been on how forward Kylian Mbappe, the tournament's top scorer with five goals, will fare against the England defence, with Kyle Walker saying he would count on his experience of playing him in the past when they square up.

"I'm sure England will have prepared to face him, but Kylian is in a position to make a difference," Deschamps said.

"Even in his last match he wasn't at his best, not in top form but still decisive (scoring twice in a 3-1 win against Poland). We have other players that can be dangerous as well."

France skipper and