Croissant or full English? It’s a common dilemma which could be partially solved by this evening’s Group D match. Few of us are going to bear facing a pain au chocolat if Roy’s boys are rolled over – not even this foppish Brightonian.
The wait is over, then, expectations might be lower than normal but there’s still an element of England expects. Cats are already flinching and looking for hiding places, with a kicking or two pencilled in by the time Sweden and Ukraine continue Group D with their 7.45pm kick-off.
Our Dugout Discussion chatroom is open and awaiting your frustration…
For now, though, it’s all about England’s meeting with France. The teams are as follows…
England: Hart; Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Cole; Milner, Parker, Gerrard, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Young, Welbeck.
France: Lloris; Debuchy, Mexes, Rami, Evra; Cabaye, Diarra, Malouda; Nasri, Benzema, Ribery.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gets the nod ahead of Stewart Downing on the left wing, while James Milner keeps his place on the opposite flank, with Theo Walcott looking likely to be an impact sub. Up front, Danny Welbeck partners Ashley Young and, at the back, Roy Hodgson opts for Joleon Lescott to partner John Terry at centre-half.
For France, the starting XI is pretty much as expected. A front three of Samir Nasri, Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery will be looking to torment the opposition, while Alou Diarra steps in for the injured Yann M’Vila in the defensive midfield role. Mathieu Debuchy starts at right-back and will be tasked with keeping Oxlade-Chamberlain at bay.
Picklive Big Money Game
If you’ve already cast your McDonalds lineup aside or are just looking for another distraction, Picklive may just have something to turn your head. They’re offering a minimum £1000 prize pot for the England vs France match with a £10 entry fee.
This “live game” is slightly different to the Tournament mode we’ve previously discussed, with five players selected and scoring generated by Opta stats during the match. It’s in depth and rewards a bit of research. We like.
Get in on the action via this link.
You’ll need a Picklive account to play all these games and, if you enter the ‘ffscout’ Promo code when you make your first deposit, you’ll get a free £5 in your account.
Picklive accounts are only available to those aged 18 or over and, while the game is playable in some countries outside of the UK and Ireland, Picklive’s terms and conditions apply. That includes a fee of £20 for any prize withdrawals from a non-UK registered credit card.
