There’s no shortage of hyped-up quarterfinal duels at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Morocco’s upset over Spain prevented an Iberian derby with Portugal, but nothing could stop England and France from colliding with one another. Without a doubt the jewel of the quarterfinal stage, every football fan is now wondering: who will win? FIFA 23 may give us a clue or two.
Is it coming home, or is it staying where it is? That question won’t necessarily be answered at the quarterfinal stage, but one of those possibilities will die at the final whistle of the England vs. France match. These two nations don’t need external motivation to go all out against each other, so what exactly do they each have in their arsenal?
We asked FIFA 23, and answers were provided. We picked the starting lineups England and France employed in their round of 16 victories over Senegal and Poland, respectively, and used their FUT World Cup Player ratings for a squad comparison. Here are the results.
England’s FIFA 23 World Cup player ratings
- GK: Jordan Pickford – 83 OVR
- RB: Kyle Walker – 85 OVR
- CB: John Stones – 84 OVR
- CB: Harry Maguire – 82 OVR
- LB: Luke Shaw – 81 OVR
- CM: Jude Bellingham – 84 OVR
- CM: Declan Rice – 84 OVR
- CM: Jordan Henderson – 84 OVR
- RW: Bukayo Saka – 83 OVR
- LW: Phil Foden – 85 OVR
- ST: Harry Kane – 89 OVR
France’s FIFA 23 World Cup player ratings
- GK: Hugo Lloris – 87 OVR
- RB: Jules Koundé – 84 OVR
- CB: Raphaël Varane – 84 OVR
- CB: Dayot Upamecano – 82 OVR
- LB: Theo Hernandez – 85 OVR
- CM: Aurélien Tchouaméni – 83 OVR
- CM: Adrien Rabiot – 81 OVR
- RW: Ousmane Dembélé – 84 OVR
- LW: Kylian Mbappé – 91 OVR
- ST: Antoine Griezmann – 84 OVR
- ST: Olivier Giroud – 83 OVR
We did a similar FIFA 23 comparison for all other quarterfinal matchups and this is by far the most even of them all. France has a slight advantage at the goalkeeper position, but everything else is basically a mirror match. Most players are rated between 81 and 85, with one offensive star shining above the rest.
FIFA 23 is expecting the winner to be decided by either Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappé. Not a great perspective for the English if form is to be considered. Kane has scored just one of the 12 England goals in Qatar, while Mbappé is on course to become the top scorer of the 2022 World Cup, with five so far. If the star strikers are to decide the outcome of England vs. France, it really doesn’t look like it will be coming home.
