sport news Three Lions prepare to turn The Blues RED in World Cup quarter-final clash trends now

England captain Harry Kane led his squadmates onto the turf at Qatar's Al-Bayt stadium as the Three Lions warmed up for their hotly anticipated quarter-final clash with defending champions France.

The two giants of European football meet at the Al Bayt Stadium tonight in a huge knockout tie, with the winner facing Morocco in the semi-finals on Wednesday after the African nation triumphed over Portugal.  

Many England supporters believe the winners of tonight's match will have 'one hand on the trophy', with Kane telling media ahead of the clash: 'We go into the (France) game with more belief than we did in 2018.' 

Thousands of English fans are cheering on Gareth Southgate's men in the stadium and fan zones on the ground in Al Khor, while millions more back home are piled into boozers or settled in front of their televisions in the hope the Three Lions will turn les Bleus red.

The two giants of European football meet at the Al Bayt Stadium, with the winner facing Morocco in the semi-finals on Wednesday after the African nation triumphed over Portugal. 

Both nations have cruised their way into the quarter-final stage, but Saturday's match is the biggest of the tournament yet, with some fans even describing it as a 'final' following Brazil's shock exit to Croatia. 

Gareth Southgate and his French counterpart Didier Deschamps named unchanged starting lineups for tonight's battle. 

Defending champions France start with Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe up front, with the tournament's top scorer set to battle it out with England's pacy right back Kyle Walker.

Keeper Hugo Lloris wins a record-extending 143rd cap for Les Bleus, breaking the tie with 1998 World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, while Jordan Pickford gets his 50th cap between the England posts. 

Forward Raheem Sterling, who is just back with the squad after returning to England following a burglary at his home, is on the bench. 

The tension and excitement among fans watching in British boozers was palpable.

Joe Goulding, 25, a sales manager watching the game at Lunar Springs in central Birmingham, said: 'This is the big one. If we beat France it is coming home 100 per cent. I have loved the World Cup and seeing the local talent like Jude Bellingham on display.

'This game is going to be really tough. We have to single out Mbappe but I don't think there's a right back in the world that can deal with him but somehow we will overcome.'

Pubs and bars readying themselves for another bumper evening - some 28 million pints will be sunk in drinking holes across Britain today in public gatherings of a scale not seen since before the coronavirus pandemic.

Shouts of 'allez les Bleus' from French fans, alongside England chants, could be heard as the atmosphere began to build at the Al Bayt Stadium.

England supporters Ben Doveton and George Doveton, 12, from Bedfordshire, were feeling excited and nervous ahead of the game.

George said: 'I'm a bit nervous because they're France, the won the last World Cup, they're not a pushover and it's going to be a very tough game.'