France, England under pressure in World Cup qualifying

London: Things have changed so dramatically for France over the past decade that a scoreless draw against Belgium last month in a friendly was praised as a good result for the former world champions.

Ahead of its World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Belarus, the French team is second in Group I, one point behind Spain after losing 1-0 at home to football's new leading country in March. With only a few hopes of gaining direct qualification for the tournament in Brazil, defeat is not an option.

While France will be hoping for its strikers to end a miserable run of four matches without a goal, England has limited attacking options in Group H matches against Moldova and Ukraine.