Hugo Lloris, the captain of France, believes that England is ready to take home a big championship, but he will do everything in his ability to prevent that from happening in Qatar.
At Al Bayt Stadium, England will play France in the World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday.
It will be the third World Cup meeting between the Three Lions and Les Bleus, with the England winning both of the previous two, a 2-0 victory in 1966 and 3-1 in 1982.
World champions France have only lost one of their past eight meetings with England, suffering a 2-0 defeat in a friendly in November 2015.
With England having reached the semi-finals in Russia and then the final of Euro 2020 last year, Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris, who will be tasked with keeping out an attack that has scored 12 goals in four games in Qatar, knows they must be treated as a major contender.
“To be honest, if we compare both sides there were more English players In Russia than French players,” Lloris said in a press conference when asked if France’s triumph in Russia gave them the edge.
“If you look at the England squad there were finalists and runners-up at the Euros and a real progression.