A question has been repeated to England’s players as they prepare to face France on Saturday in the World Cup quarterfinals. How are they going to stop Kylian Mbappé?
Not surprising, given that Mbappé is the tournament’s top scorer, with five wins, and is widely regarded as the man who will succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as football’s biggest star.
“I am sure that England will have prepared to face Kylian,” French coach Didier Deschamps told a news conference on Friday. “But Kylian is in a position to make a difference.”
“Kylian is Kylian and always will be,” he warned.
France does not tone down the expectations surrounding its star player, even as the noise around him increases with each stellar performance in Qatar.
He has already scored one more goal than the four he shouted when his country won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In the round of 16, he scored twice in a 3-1 win against Poland. His second goal was a shot from an angle after leaving goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the wrong position.
“He can’t be compared to other players,” said his teammate Dayot Upamecano.
“We all believe in Kylian,” Youssouf Fofana agreed.
Mbappe is seen as an unstoppable force in Qatar, something English defender Kyle Walker rejected this week.
“I don’t know how to say it anymore: I feel that he is a superior player. I do not underestimate it one iota, but we are not playing tennis, it is not an individual sport, ”said the Englishman before a string of questions about the Paris Saint-Germain striker.
But the players in France seem happy to feed the narrative of a Mbappé who is simply unstoppable.
“If he (for Walker) can stop Kylian Mbappé, good for him,” Fofana asserted. “But another 19 Ligue 1 teams are still looking for a formula. The truth will be on the pitch.”
Walker will have the job of minimizing the damage Mbappé could inflict on England’s defense at Al Bayt Stadium.
But rather than trying to contain France’s biggest threat, there has been talk this week of how bold Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate could be in his response.
England reached the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the Eurocup final last year.
On both occasions, Southgate was criticized for his caution despite England only losing in a penalty shootout against Italy at the Euros.
“I like Gareth very much. If I have not misunderstood, not everyone appreciates him so much in his country,” Deschamps praised him.
England lost 2-1 to Croatia four years ago and the penalty shootout loss to Italy followed a 1-1 draw at Wembley.
England went ahead in both matches and Southgate was accused of adopting defensive tactics to try to protect the gap.
His team has played with more freedom in this World Cup, with a more attacking style that has led them to score 12 goals in four games to tie with Portugal as the top scoring teams.
Southgate have played with four defenders so far in the tournament, but could change the scheme to a five-man defense to try and deal with Mbappé.
“Nobody complained that we played with five before reaching the final of the Eurocup,” Walker recalled. “I think it’s a little harsh to judge him from what we’ve done before. I think that in this tournament we have practiced very offensive football and we have scored many goals”.
After falling just short of their last two major tournaments, Walker believes England are ready to win this time. Beating France, he says, would prove it.
“It’s a great opportunity to put a stamp and say that we are a good team and that we can achieve great things, and convince ourselves that we can win this,” said the Manchester City defender.
“I’m not saying we don’t believe it, but beating a great team like this in the quarterfinals, which is the current world champion, will give us a lot of confidence, not arrogance, but confidence,” Walker closed.
The winner of this key will face Portugal or Morocco in the semifinals.