England set up France tie to spark war of words

ENGLAND boss Mark Sampson fired back at his French counterpart last night for being ‘wet behind the ears’ as the fighting talk began ahead of their Euro 2017 quarter-final showdown. France boss Olivier Echouafni said his team, whom England have not beaten since 1974, were the one side the Lionesses would not want to face in Holland. But Sampson said Echouafni, working at his first tournament with France, would ‘learn who not to take on’. The French won just one game to finish second in their group while England secured a 100 per cent record by beating Portugal last night. ‘He’s wet around the ears when it comes to tournament football,’ Sampson said. ‘We’re an experienced team, I’m an experienced manager. ‘The game isn’t played in the press conference room, unlucky for them. So we’re ready for this French test. It’s a great challenge for us to face France. Congratulations to France for finishing second in their group — they should be proud of that.’ Goals from Toni Duggan and Nikita Parris helped Sampson’s second-string side stutter to victory over Portugal here as England made 10 changes to prepare for Sunday’s last-eight showdown. Duggan, earning her 50th cap, gave England the lead inside seven minutes, chipping keeper