Chris Waddle speaks out on England and Callum Wilson chances when facing France

The Mag

·8 December 2022

Chris Waddle speaks out on England and Callum Wilson chances when facing France

Chris Waddle believes that ‘This is really where the tournament starts for England and it’s a massive test.’

The former Newcastle United, Marseille and England star speaking ahead of facing France.

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England taking on France at 7pm on Saturday night, for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.

A win at the weekend would see England then play either Morocco or Portugal next Wednesday (14 December) for a World Cup final place.

So everything to play for.

Despite France missing a host of quality players through injury, the likes of Benzema, Kante and Pogba, Chis Waddle declares ‘We (England) haven’t played anyone close to France’s level so far and it’s a great opportunity to see how good we really are on Saturday night.’

Gareth Southgate has yet again had the luck of the draw and whilst for example you had Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia together in a group, Spain and Germany together in another, England have had a series of very comfortable opponents that have seen them face Iran, USA, Wales and Senegal.

As for current Newcastle United centre-forward Callum Wilson, former NUFC winger Chris Waddle thinks that the striker offers something very different to Harry Kane and could come off the bench and bother France with his pace and ability to get behind the French defence.

Callum Wilson having shown up well in sub appearances against Iran and Wales, though he has missed training on Tuesday and Wednesday with a ‘minor strain’ according to the England camp.

The overall message from Chris Waddle appears to be that attack is the best form of defence against France, with the French having conceded in all three World Cup group games against Australia, Denmark and Tunisia, as well as Poland in the last 16.

Chris Waddle on Callum Wilson and England’s chances against France, talking to Lord Ping:

“Callum Wislon is a completely different player to Harry Kane.

“If England are winning against France and they are piling the pressure on, Wilson would be a good option to bring into the game because he can get in behind the French defence and hurt them with his pace.”

French ‘very confident’

“The French will be feeling very confident. People can confuse confidence with arrogance, but the French aren’t like that.

“In fact, I used to think they were quite soft when I played over there – mummy’s boys.

“They are world champions who have seen it and done it. They know what to do. They’ll be expecting a tough, physical game.

“Mbappe is on fire. Giroud’s just become their leading goalscorer. You don’t know what you’re going to get from Dembele, he could easily be the best player on the park and, if he isn’t performing, Deschamps can turn to Coman who is a very good player. This is a great French squad even though they are missing some key players like Pogba, Kante and Benzema. It is full of talent.”

Marseille days

“Looking back at my time in Marseille, six or seven of the players were regulars in the French team including Deschamps.

“They were always quietly confident and they didn’t fear anyone – they were looking to stamp their authority on the game and this team will believe that they are the best team at the tournament.

“They’ll go into this match thinking they can beat us and they won’t be scared. They’ll respect us, but they won’t be frightened.”

Target Lloris

“I think we can get at them on setpieces with the quality that we have. I also think we can target Lloris who has been a bit hit and miss, I think his distribution with the ball at his feet isn’t great and that is an area we should be looking to exploit.

“If you put him under pressure when he’s on the ball, he’ll make mistakes.”

Not the best defence

“I don’t think they have the best defence, they can be got at.

“They are not the most solid team in the tournament and we know that Varane has struggled at times in the Premier League. The wingbacks like to go forward, but they leave spaces that England can exploit.

“What gets this French team out of jail is the players they have going forward. France’s strength is in attack and if they drop in and ask England to break them down, that could backfire on them.

“If France really goes for England, I can see them scoring a couple of goals at a minimum.

“It will be a very tactical affair. This is really where the tournament starts for England and it’s a massive test. We haven’t played anyone close to France’s level so far and it’s a great opportunity to see how good we really are on Saturday night.”

Friday 9 December

First Quarter-Final

Brazil v Croatia (3pm)

Second Quarter-Final

Holland v Argentina (7pm)

Saturday 10 December 7pm

Third Quarter-Final

Morocco v Portugal (3pm)

Fourth Quarter-Final

England v France (7pm)

Tuesday 13 December

First Semi-Final