A major tournament fixture that has seemed to loom over Gareth Southgate 's Three Lions ever since he was haphazardly installed as manager by the FA five years ago. Les Blues were the opponents waiting for England had they managed to reach the World Cup final in 2018, with Didier Deschamps ' squad continuously looking the strongest and deepest in world football during Southgate's tenure.
Having avoided each another further during last summer's European Championships - which France humiliatingly crashed out of in the round of 16 - and both of the following Nations League campaigns, the day has come at last.
