Letter from France: This rosbif hoping not to jump to French beat

ALL SMILES: France's Kylian Mbappe and manager Didier Deschamps during a training session at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha, Qatar. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

In the days since England’s win over Senegal last Sunday in Qatar, I have received several messages from French friends that are variations on a theme of “on va bouffer les beefs”.

The direct translation is ‘we’re going to eat the beef(s)’. Because France-England is looming, it extends to, “we [the French] will have you [the English] for dinner”.