Can Gareth Southgate’s England produce a statement of intent in their Parisian friendly against France, at 8pm on ITV?

It’s safe to say that the latest batch of World Cup qualifiers didn’t go to plan for either England or France. The former travelled to Scotland expecting to breeze past Gordon Strachan’s struggling side; instead they came away with just a point, an injury-time equaliser from Harry Kane saving England’s blushes after a Leigh Griffiths had given the Scots the lead with 2 converted free kicks in the final 3 minutes of normal time.



Things were worse, however, for France, who suffered in Stockholm after a 94th minute, half-way line winner from Ola Toivonen sent Sweden to the top of Group A. Didier Deschamps’ side is in 2nd place on goal difference, with the Netherlands 3 points behind in 3rd.

Yet Southgate would be a fool to read too much into France’s Swedish slip-up. Deschamps has one of the world’s most exciting squads at his disposal, including N’Golo Kante, Antoine Griezmann, Dmitri Payet, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe.

If reports are to be believed the 18-year old Mbappe could end the summer anywhere from Real Madrid to Liverpool to Arsenal to PSG. Not only that if (or more likely when) he leaves Monaco he will almost certainly take Pogba’s record for most expensive player in the world. And what better way to attract a few more admirers than by scoring your first ever international goal?

As for England, Southgate looks set to use the friendly to test out a few new combinations. Already confirmed is that Tom Heaton and Jack Butland will replace Joe Hart in goal for the 1st and 2nd halves respectively; elsewhere it could mean anything from starts for John Stones, Phil Jones or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to more substantial appearances from the likes of Jermain Defoe or Raheem Sterling. Kane, who took the captain’s armband at Hampden Park, is a near certainty to start, and will be looking to score in his 5th consecutive game for club and country, after racking up 9 goals in his last 4 matches.

Since Southgate took charge England have looked patchy against top-tier opposition, throwing away a 2-0 lead against Spain last November, before limping to a 1-0 loss against Germany in March. It seems unlikely that anything will change on Tuesday night, with Spreadex offering a France/England Goal Supremacy spread of 0.5-0.7 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.3-2.5.