According to Kyle Walker, England’s quarterfinal encounter against the defending winners France is a contest between two teams and not just about his squad taking on Kylian Mbappe.
After registering easy victories in the round of 16, the European heavyweights will compete at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday for a spot in the semifinals. Les Bleus defeated Poland 3-1 while the Three Lions defeated Senegal 3-0 to advance easily to the quarterfinals.
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England, who are unbeaten in Qatar so far, face a major challenge in Mbappe who has become a frontrunner to win the Golden Boot after scoring five goals in four matches.
But Walker said he will be ready to stop the French forward.
“He [Mbappe] is one of the best, if not the best, in the world,” England’s right-back told a press conference yesterday.
An image of France’s forward Kylian Mbappe being displayed at the Twin Towers Al Jaber in Doha. AFP
“I understand what I need to do and that’s to stop him. It’s probably easier said than done but I don’t underestimate myself. I have to take extra care and give him the respect he deserves, but not too much respect because he’s playing England and we can cause them problems.”
“He’s a good player and in good form but I’m not going to roll out the red carpet for him and tell him to go and score. I’m representing my country at a quarter-final of a World Cup. It’s do or die. If we lose we go home. He’s not going to stand in my way and hopefully winning a World Cup for my country,” he added. The 32-year-old, however, said England will have more concerns than only dealing with Mbappe against the Les Bleus, who also boast players like Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele.
“The game is not England vs Mbappe. The game is England vs France,” the Manchester City player said.
“It’s not a solo sport. It takes a team to win a game of football. They have to worry about us. It’s not just us worrying about them. We have great players, and great players who can come off the bench and affect games.”
Paris St-Germain’s Mbappe had admitted earlier Walker gave him tough challenge during games against Manchester City with both players facing off on three occasions.
“It’s nice to hear from a good player that he’s had a tough game against me,” said Walker.
Konate can’t wait to see Mbappe-Walker battle
Meanwhile, French defender Ibrahima Konate yesterday said “there was nothing worrying about” after Mbappe did not attend France’s training session on Tuesday.
“He had a different kind of training session to do,” said Konate before predicting an exciting duel between Mbappe and Walker.
“Walker and Mbappe are two outstanding athletes. I’m excited to see this match since Walker is one of the top right-backs in the world,” the defender stated.
Kylian is outstanding. He has improved and changed over time. I have no idea where he’ll stop. We’re fortunate to have him on our side, not against us, the speaker continued.
The first knockout game between France and England at a major tournament will take place in Saturday’s quarterfinal.
