England head coach Brian McDermott has announced a crucial change to his 19-man squad ahead of the Rugby League World Cup match against France on Saturday. After suffering a disappointing defeat to Tonga in their opening game, McDermott retains AJ Brimson at full-back while introducing Luke Thompson at prop to replace the injured Morgan Knowles.

Kallum Watkins, a veteran centre, aims for a cap in his fourth World Cup and is included among the reserves. Notably, Mikey Lewis returns to the bench after being omitted last week, adding depth to the squad.

In line with World Cup regulations, each team can name a six-player bench, but only four can be utilized during the match. In the previous encounter against Tonga, Jack Welsby and Matty Ashton remained unused substitutes, while Zach Eckersley was replaced by Ashton shortly before the game.

On the other side, France has made several adjustments. Thomas Lacans steps up to start at five-eighth, while Cesar Rouge transitions to the bench. Romeo Tropis enters at centre, pushing Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet to the wing. Skipper Ben Garcia shifts from hooker to lock, and Amir Bourouh joins the starting lineup at No. 9, with Julian Bousquet taking over at prop.

Squad Overview

England:
AJ Brimson, Dom Young, Hugo Savala, Herbie Farnworth, Matty Ashton, George Williams, Harry Smith, Max King, Brad O'Neill, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Kai Pearce-Paul, Victor Radley.
Interchange: Jez Litten, Ben Currie, Ethan Havard, Sam Walters, Jack Welsby, Mikey Lewis.

France:
Arthur Mourgue, Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet, Latrell Siegwalt, Roméo Tropis, Benjamin Laguerre, Thomas Lacans, Théo Fages, Romain Navarrete, Amir Bourouh, Julian Bousquet, Arthur Romano, Mathieu Jussaume, Benjamin Garcia (c).
Interchange: César Rougé, Lambert Belmas, Mathieu Cozza, Louis Grossemy.

As both teams prepare for this pivotal matchup, the stakes are high for England to bounce back and secure their first win of the tournament.