'FRANCE WILL LIFT CUP'

England defender Maguire says Les Bleus are ruthless, clinical and experienced

AL KHOR, Qatar - England defender Harry Maguire has tipped "ruthless" France to win the World Cup - despite the Three Lions being "a lot better than them in a lot of areas" - as match winner Olivier Giroud opined that the "mental side of things" earned Les Bleus a 2-1 quarter-final win on Saturday.

France might have come into the game as slight favourites, but the reigning champions were out-played for vast stretches of the game, particularly after Aurelien Tchouameni had given Didier Deschamps' team an early lead with a shot from distance.

Having taken the lead, France slowly lost urgency and impetus, finding it increasingly difficult to handle the brightness of Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden at the Al Bayt Stadium.

With Harry Kane equalising from the spot nine minutes into the second half after Tchouameni had tripped Saka, the wind seemed to be at England's backs.

France's vaunted attacking line, spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe, had been peripheral to the game; the reigning champions were being overwhelmed in midfield. Deschamps seemed curiously reluctant to try to wrest back control.