FA chairman Greg Dyke: We are sure that all England supporters will join us in showing our full support to our friends from across the channel

The Football Association has confirmed that England will play host to France at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night following the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night.

The Football Association held discussions with their French counterparts on Saturday morning and the international friendly will go ahead as planned.

Terrorists planned to attack the Stade de France where France were playing Germany in an international friendly.  Three explosions were heard outside the stadium during the first half but the game finished, France winning 2-0.

A club where an American rock band were playing, bars and restaurants were also targeted, killing 129 innocent people.

A statement from The FA said: “First and foremost we passed on our deepest condolences to those involved in these truly awful incidents.  The thoughts of everyone at The FA, our manager Roy Hodgson, his players and our supporters are with the French nation.

“During the conversation the Fédération Française de Football (FFF) made it clear that they still wish to play against us on Tuesday night at Wembley Stadium.

“In solidarity with the FFF we fully respect and support this decision for the fixture to go ahead.

“Furthermore, we have liaised extensively with, and taken advice from Government and the relevant authorities, who are also in support of the decision to fulfil the fixture.”

FA Chairman Greg Dyke told www.thefa.com: “Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with the city of Paris after these terrible atrocities. On behalf of The FA, I want to express our sorrow and send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of those who have lost their lives.

“After consulting (on Saturday) morning with the French Football Federation and the British Government, we have decided together that the match between our two countries at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night should go ahead.

“We will use the opportunity to pay our respects to all affected and also to express our solidarity with the people of France.

“Finally, along with the FFF, we will discuss how to appropriately mark the tragic incidents at Tuesday's fixture. We are sure that all England supporters will join us in showing our full support to our friends from across the channel.”

French World Cup stars Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira pulled out of David Beckham’s star-studied charity match at Old Trafford following the events in Paris the previous night.

Paul Scholes and two goals from Michael Owen saw England & Ireland XI beat The Rest of the World XI 3-1 in front of 75,000 fans in Manchester.

Gary Lineker tweeted: “It’s just incomprehensive that human beings can be so evil to innocent, fellow human beings. What a mess of a species!”

Beckham, 40, who ended his career in 2013 with Paris Sant-Germain, told the BBC, who screened highlights of the game last night, “Paris has always been one of my favorite cities. I have great memories and not just from playing for PSG.  I played my 100^th game for England there and the support I had from the French people was incredible that day. It was so sad to see what happened.”

Locally, Bromley marked the tragedy by holding a one-minutes silence at Hayes Lane ahead of the club’s live television debut, Altrincham winning 3-1.

Stephen McCartney, editor of www.kentishfootball.co.uk dedicated the match report to the innocent victims of the tragedy and is flying a French flag on the home page of the website to pay respects to those across the channel.

Supporters of Whitstable Town and Tunbridge Wells started clapping in the 13^th minute of their games – to mark the date of the tragedy and to pay their own tribute – and Football League and non-league clubs up and down the country paid their own respects.

Fans that are attending the match at Wembley are advised to arrive early as security measures are to be increased.

Visit The Football Associations website: www.thefa.com