play
Why England can win the World Cup (1:50)

Mark thinks that England looks better than France, Brazil and Argentina. 1:45

6:14 PM ET

The real business is about to start for England and its head coach.

When the big-hitters can't avoid each other anymore, the stage of the World Cup is when the champions of Africa were dispatched with minimal fuss in the round of 16.

The reward for England's win at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday was three goals, two of which were scored by Harry Kane. With five goals in four games, Kylian Mbappe is having the tournament of his dreams, but also with history.

If England are to go any further, they will have to beat a major nation away from Wembley Stadium.

Features and previews of the World Cup.

- Stream FC Daily and Futbol Americas on ESPN+

After reaching the World Cup semifinals and the final of the European Championships, it's not a new thing for England's head coach to go deeper into tournaments.

The first time the draw opened up, England were able to get to the last four in Russia by beating Sweden, and the second time they lost to Croatia. Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, and France made up the other side of the brackets.

At the Euros, England ended up in a group with Sweden, Ukraine, Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Wales andDenmark, leaving Belgium, Portugal, France, Spain and Italy to fight it out on the other side.

The team lost to Italy on penalties in the final after beating Germany and playing other teams.

The recent draws have been kind, but there can be no doubt that playing holders France on foreign soil is a step up in both campaigns.

It's the biggest test we could face. They are world champion. They have an amazing amount of talent with outstanding players. It is a great challenge for us to prepare for. Football rivalries from the past and great games from the past are some of the things that are happening in the quarterfinals. We can test ourselves against the best in this game.

play

Luis Echegaray was impressed by the performance of Jude Bellingham.

The build-up will be dominated by questions about how you stop Kylian Mbappe.

It will likely catch the attention of France's manager, who will see that Harry Maguire looked unnerved by the early pressure and pace of the game.

After England scored twice in 10 minutes at the end of the first half, the game was over as a contest.

France won't be so accommodating, and much will depend on the team selection of England's coach. It will be tempted to switch to a back five against France in order to protect John Stones and Harry Maguire against the fast pace of Kylian Mbappe. Kyle Walker would play as the third centre-back with the right wing-back coming in.

It's not a given that France will want to play on the front foot because they know England will dominate the ball and that's not a given against them.

So far, he's got his big selection calls right, so he can at least take solace in that. He chose Henderson over Mount, and both ended up on the score sheet.

"Mbappe is a world-class player and has already delivered big moments in this tournament and in previous tournaments."

He's a great player and there is alsoAntoine. They've got incredible depth of talent, and they've got some outstanding young players, so everywhere you look you see they've got incredible talent. We're looking forward to the challenge and it's a huge test for us.

Plane tickets home usually follow when England play in a major tournament away from home.

West Germany won the World Cup in 1966 and is one of the exits. If France isn't added to that list, England will have to figure out how to stop the current world champion.

The real work is just beginning for England, who have been in the Middle East for three weeks.