Shearer and Ferdinand are bullish on England's chances against France

‘Admire France, yes, fear them? Absolutely NOT’: Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand are bullish on England’s chances against France in the World Cup quarter-finals with the ex-Man United defender insisting the Three Lions are the BETTER team

  • England set up mouth-watering quarter-final clash with France on Monday night
  • Gareth Southgate’s side maintained impressive scoring record against Senegal
  • Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand were both full of praise of Southgate’s side
  • Suggested France will be fearful of England’s array of attacking options
  • Follow Sportsmail’s daily World Cup live blog for all updates from Qatar 

England should not fear France, insists Alan Shearer while Rio Ferdinand believes Gareth Southgate has a better team at his disposal than Didier Deschamps. 

Both countries flew through their last-16 tests with flying colours to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final tie on Saturday night – with some observers suggesting the likely winners of the tournament are to come from the game at the Al Bayt Stadium.

Speaking on the BBC ahead of Japan vs. Croatia on Monday afternoon, Shearer and Ferdinand were full of praise for Southgate’s men with the former Manchester United defender arguing that while France might have the individual x-factor in Kylian Mbappe, England possess the better ‘nucleus’ in their squad.  

Rio Ferdinand was full of praise for England and said they had a better team than Saturday’s opponents

‘The calmness the confidence this team, they expect to get through,’ Ferdinand said. 

‘Any type of situation that arises they were under a bit of pressure in the first 25 minutes of the game, but it doesn’t unsettle them.

‘They ride that wave and then they punish teams. They’ve been very clinical and I think if you said to England you’re gonna play against the France team that are gonna be without five of their starts and a 37 year old centre forward…

Alan Shearer echoed Ferdinand’s sentiments – saying England will not fear France in their quarter-final tie

‘Yeah go at them, go on the front foot, really put it to this French team because we watched France. Respect them they’re a good team but I don’t think they’re as good a team as this England team. They’ve got the superstar individual, but I think our nucleus of players will outshine them.’

Shearer, meanwhile, echoed his colleague’s sentiments – saying England will not, nor should not, fear France while praising Southgate’s side’s performance against Senegal.   

‘They should be full of confidence. It was almost perfect other than the first 20-25 minutes they found one or two things difficult and had to rely on a brilliant save from Jordan Pickford.

England will take on France on Saturday night – with their attacking talent fully tuned up

‘But then after that I thought it was superb. The manager deserves great credit, he’s made big decisions again in his team selection, they’ve worked for him again. 

‘Respect France, admire France, yes, fear them? Absolutely not. Let them fear us let them look at us and think “wow the options they’ve got”.

On Mbappe, who raced ahead in the scoring charts at this year’s tournament, notching his fourth and fifth goals, Shearer said: ‘He’s very good but we’ve got some very good players in attack as well, not only who can start, but who are gonna come on and change the game. If need be wo let France fear England rather than the other way around.’

Their comments come after Roy Keane, on Sunday evening, said England should not fear the world champions – crediting their young players with fostering an impeccable tournament environment from which they can thrive. 

‘We spoke about these players before the game, and what they’re doing is producing. It’s about what you do today, in these games. France coming up in the next few days, but that’s why the players deserve credit,’ he said, 

Ferdinand and Shearer both praised Kylian Mbappe – but the former said England’s nucleus of talent overrides the individual brilliance of the Frenchman

‘They’re producing week in, week out and that’s why they’re top players. Still young, you know their best days are still ahead, they’re fantastic and they’re producing.

‘This ended up being an easy game, but their performance made it an easy game. The second half, [was just] walking pace. The first half, the damage was done – the second goal just on half time.

‘These young players, will they be fearful of France? Absolutely not. Go and take them on, show some courage, bravery. That’s what they’ve been doing the last few years and all credit to them.’




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