He has been planning to play France for the past two years.

England spent two years preparing a detailed plan for the day they met France at the 2022 World Cup.

After beating Senegal 3-0 in the round of 16, England have had five days to prepare for their quarter-final match against France. But according to assistant coach Steve Holland, the "Three Lions" have been preparing for the upcoming match for the past two years.

Tim Dittmer - a former goalkeeper coach now head of the English Football Association (FA) coaching department - has been assigned to monitor all activities of France over the past two years to prepare for the possibility of facing this opponent in a major tournament. And this expert just presented to all members of the team on Monday morning, December 6, at the "Three Lions" headquarters in Qatar - Souq Al Wakra Hotel - about what he has collected.

Dittmer is an analyst assigned by the English Football Association (FA) to monitor the French team for the past two years. Photo:FIFA

Holland shared: "The expert did not just talk about what happened in Qatar. He talked about the choices of the coach, the opponents of France over the past two years." According to the assistant of head coach Gareth Southgate, 5 days of preparation is still too little, with a huge workload, but the important thing is that the players believe in the plan.

Holland believes England will play a tight game against France. The former Chelsea assistant feels England are wiser after reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of Euro 2020, so no one wants the 2022 World Cup journey to stop at the quarter-finals.

"When you've played a final and a semi-final, getting to the quarter-finals is a failure," Holland said. "I'm not being arrogant. We wanted more."

The match at 2am on December 11, Hanoi time, will be the third time England and France meet at the World Cup. In the previous two matches, the "Three Lions" won their neighbors 2-0 in 1966 and 3-1 in 1982. However, in the last 8 matches in all competitions, England won only one and lost to France 5 times.

Holland (left) and head coach Southgate observe an England training session in Qatar on December 7. Photo:PA

Holland admits that France are now different from the opponents England have faced in the past. He believes this is a balanced match and must be wary of stars who can change the game like Kylian Mbappe - the striker leading the list of goalscorers at the 2022 World Cup with 5 goals. "Both teams have players who can change the result from zero," he said.

The assistant born in 1970 has worked for the England team since 2016 and is now Gareth Southgate's right-hand man. He considers the head coach a good person, an ambassador for the country. More importantly, Southgate is very good at managing players.

"It takes a lot of energy to manage a team," Holland said. "When you pick 11 players to start, 15 others will be disappointed. But Southgate works systematically and the players respect that."

Holland's advice is not to let the first team feel comfortable and know they will play regularly. The players must feel the manager's trust and the competition within the team. "If conflict is not handled well, it spreads like cancer," Holland said. "Southgate does it as well as he can. We are lucky to have top experts for that."