Former Manchester United captain and England international Gary Neville has assessed which England player is most suited to face Kylian Mbappe.
On Sunday evening, England oversaw a 3-0 win against Senegal to book their place in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Earlier that day, France also progressed to the next stage of the tournament; goals from Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud secured France’s place in the quarter-finals as they picked up a 3-1 victory against Poland.
The two sides will now meet on Saturday, December 10 in what is expected to be a fiery clash as they both look to reach the semi-finals of the competition.
Les Bleus are currently reigning champions and have the most in-form forward in the world at their disposal. Mbappe has netted five goals in four matches and looks unstoppable on the pitch with his devastating pace and ever-threatening presence and finishing ability.
England’s quality and depth
Still, England possesses talent across the pitch; Harry Kane is always in prolific form, Jude Bellingham can dominate the match at only 19 and Marcus Rashford netted an exceptional free-kick against Wales last week.
As well as that, Gareth Southgate is able to deploy two equally strong starting lineups. He recently addressed England’s young and talented attackers as an “embarrassment of riches”.
Neville also believes they have the answer to stop Mbappe – in the form of Kyle Walker, as the Manchester City defender is renowned for his blistering pace. He said on Sky Sports (via ESPN): “I don’t think we’ve got the best right-back in the world, but in terms of physicality, pace, experience, I couldn’t think of anybody better to match Kylian Mbappe than Kyle Walker.”