Reigning World Cup champions France will endeavour to move one step closer to defending their crown when they pit their wits against England in Saturday's quarter-final at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Didier Deschamps's side put Poland to the sword by three goals to one in their last-16 showdown, as Kylian Mbappe (2) and Olivier Giroud made the net ripple before a Robert Lewandowski consolation from the spot.
Either Morocco or Portugal will meet France in the semi-finals should they prevent football from coming home to England this weekend, and as the current holders, they will enter Saturday's contest as many people's favourites to come up trumps.
Here, Sports Mole looks at three reasons for France to be confident of inflicting more World Cup heartbreak upon England and sealing a place in the final four.
The Mbappe factor
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Prior to the commencement of the World Cup, Kylian Mbappe was largely making headlines off the field, having only signed a bumper new Paris Saint-Germain contract in May before allegedly deciding that he wanted to leave after all only a few months later.
However, the 2018 World Cup winner - who is still only 23 years old - has tongues wagging for all the right reasons at the moment, as he leads the way at the top of the scoring charts with five goals in Qatar.
It therefore came as no surprise to see news of Mbappe missing one training session topping the sports pages on Tuesday, but the attacker quickly shook off that ankle discomfort to make himself available for the quarter-final, much to the dismay of the England faithful.
Mbappe's magnificent range of finishes was on full display during their last-16 clash with Poland, sending an arrowed shot into the top corner of Wojciech Szczesny's near post before picking out the far corner with a sumptuous curler for his second of the day.
The former Monaco starlet has admitted that he enjoys more freedom in the France setup compared to PSG, and the connection between him and target man Olivier Giroud - now France's leading men's goalscorer of all time - has been something to behold.
Furthermore, France have remarkably won all nine World Cup matches that Mbappe has started and can feel optimistic of making that 10 here, but the lightning-quick Kyle Walker - who must be sick of hearing Mbappe's name by now - is a worthy challenger indeed.
European success
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England and France's World Cup knockout record against European nations could hardly be more contrasting, as the Three Lions have suffered six defeats from their last eight games against their continental foes in the knockout stage of the tournament.
In contrast, Les Bleus have developed an affinity for sending their fellow UEFA opponents home, as they have prevailed in eight of their last 10 World Cup knockout games against European teams, the most recent of which being their last-16 success over Poland.
En route to the 2018 crown, France got the better of Croatia and Belgium in their final two matches, and their only defeats to European nations in that stretch came to Italy in the 2006 final and to Germany in the 2014 quarter-finals.
After losing their semi-final 2-0 to West Germany before beating Belgium 4-2 in the 1986 third-placed playoff, France remarkably went 20 years without suffering another World Cup elimination to a European team, although their failures to qualify for the 1990 and 1994 tournaments must be taken into account there.
Head-to-head results
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Neither of France's previous World Cup meetings with England have ended in victory, with the Three Lions winning 2-0 in their triumphant 1966 tournament before another 3-1 group-stage success in the 1982 edition.
However, away from the shine of the Jules Rimet trophy, France have fared much better against England in recent battles, winning five, drawing two and losing just one of their last eight meetings with the Three Lions.
France's only defeat in that sequence was a 2-0 loss at Wembley in November 2015, when the nation was still grieving from the Paris terror attacks a few days before, and their most recent battle with England in a June 2017 friendly ended in a 3-2 victory.
Harry Kane's brace proved inconsequential on that day as Samuel Umtiti, Djibril Sidibe and Ousmane Dembele found the net for France, who have also gone unbeaten in three Euros clashes with England since their most recent World Cup defeat to the Three Lions.
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