England바카라s players have been asked one question over and over again as they prepare to face France in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. How do you stop Kylian MbappĂ©? (More Football News)
Hardly surprising, given MbappĂ© is the tournament바카라s leading scorer with five goals and is widely considered the man to succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as soccer바카라s biggest star.
바카라I바카라m sure England will have prepared to face Kylian,바카라 France coach Didier Deschamps said at a news conference Friday. 바카라But Kylian is in the position to make a difference.
바카라Kylian is Kylian and he always will be.바카라
There is no sense of France trying to manage the expectations of its star player, even as the hype surrounding him grows with each stellar performance in Qatar.
He has already scored one more goal than the four he managed as his country won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In the round of 16 in Qatar, he struck twice as the defending champions beat Poland 3-1, with two thunderous shots past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
바카라He cannot be compared to other players,바카라 France defender Dayot Upamecano said.
Kylian MbappĂ© is being depicted as an unstoppable force in Qatar 바카라 something England defender Kyle Walker pushed back against this week.
바카라I don바카라t know how to say it even more: I feel he is a top player. I바카라m not underestimating that one bit, but we are not playing tennis, it바카라s not a solo sport,바카라 he said after being faced with a series of questions about the Paris Saint-Germain striker.
England captain Harry Kane on Friday praised Walker, who also was his teammate at Tottenham for several years, as 바카라a fantastic defender. He바카라s been probably the most consistent right back there has been for the last 10 years.바카라
But France바카라s players seem happy to feed the narrative that MbappĂ© is simply unstoppable.
바카라If he (Walker) can stop Kylian MbappĂ©, good for him,바카라 said midfielder Youssouf Fofana. 바카라But 19 other teams in Ligue 1 have been waiting for the solution. The truth will come from the pitch.바카라
Walker will have the job of trying to limit the damage MbappĂ© can inflict on England바카라s defense at Al Bayt Stadium. But rather than merely trying to contain France바카라s biggest threat, discussion this week has been about how bold Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate is prepared to be in response.
England reached the semifinals in 2018, losing 2-1 in extra time to Croatia when trying to protect an early lead.
바카라Whether we had the full belief to go and win the tournament, I바카라m not quite sure,바카라 Kane acknowledged.
England also led early in the European Championship final last year, finishing 1-1 with Italy and losing the penalty shootout at home at Wembley Stadium. Again, Southgate was criticized for a too-cautious approach.
바카라I very much like Gareth. If I understand correctly, not everyone appreciates him so much in his own country,바카라 noted Deschamps.
Southgate바카라s team has played with more freedom at this World Cup, with a more attacking style leading to 12 goals in four games to tie Portugal as leading scorers.
Southgate has opted to play with a back four so far, but could switch to a five-man defense to try to cope with Mbappé.
바카라Nobody was complaining about us playing a five before we reached the Euros final,바카라 said Walker. 바카라I think it바카라s a bit harsh to judge him on what we바카라ve done previously. I think at this tournament we have been playing good attacking football and scoring a lot of goals.바카라
After coming close to a title twice with Southgate, Walker believes England is ready to win this time. Beating France, he says, would be evidence of that.
바카라It바카라s a great opportunity to put a stamp down and to say that we are a good team and we can achieve great things, and give us the belief that we can win this,바카라 he said. 바카라I바카라m not saying we don바카라t believe, but to beat a big team like that in a quarterfinal, they바카라re the reigning world champions, that will give us great confidence 바카라 not arrogance but confidence.바카라
