Football

World Cup 2022: England has more than Mbappe to worry about in the quarter-final

Harry Kane opened his World Cup account as the Three Lions opened as Senegal were routed 3-0 in Al Khor. England has a tough task on their hands as they take on the challenge of reigning world champions France in the quarter-finals. 

England

Les Blues earned their spot with a 3-1 thrashing of stubborn Poland. Robert Lewandowski converted from 12 yards out but it was Kylian Mbappe who was the star of the show. 

The 23-year-old supplied Olivier Giroud to open the scoring, becoming France’s all-time top goalscorer in the process. Mbappe then scored a brace after the break to complete the rout. 

Thanks to his overall performance, the PSG star has been hailed as France’s main threat to England in their quarter-final meeting. Luke Shaw praised Mbappe for his performance and opined the Three Lions cannot solely think about him as Les Bleus have other quality players in their ranks. 

“Obviously after his performance (against Poland) there’s going to be even more chat about him but we know he’s a world-class player,” Shaw remarked.

“I think it would be very naive of us to focus purely on him. They’re reigning world champions for a reason and we need to focus on them as a whole team.

“They have brilliant players over the whole pitch so we’re not going to fully focus on him, but it’s an amazing tie to be involved in and that’s why we’re here.”

England’s clean sheets add confidence

Mbappe will be part of the attacking trident including Giroud and Greizmann (Antoine). While the AC Milan forward has the accolade of being their top-scorer, Greizmann adds stability and has not missed an international meeting in 70 fixtures. 

They will be looking to outscore the Three Lions, who are finding their own groove. Iran were thrashed by seven goals while Wales and Senegal conceded three goals apiece. 

Gareth Southgate has a functioning attacking line-up that will surely give Didier Deschamps time to ponder. Moreover, the much-maligned defence has stood up to their call and has not conceded a goal in their last three fixtures. 

Shaw was pleased with the accumulated clean sheets but did not put too much weight on it. The Manchester United defender highlighted their mistakes and knows it will not be easy to contain the French in this high-stakes meeting.

“I think we’re really happy with the victory, another clean sheet obviously,” he added. “We were more clinical in front of goal. We defended well as well, not too many chances for them.

“Obviously in the first half a couple of sloppy passes from us put ourselves under pressure, but apart from that, overall I think it’s a solid performance and what a game to look forward to next.

“It needs to give us confidence and the belief, it’s obviously not going to be easy. They are reigning world champions and they are that for a reason.

“It will be a very tough game and mentally we have to be ready and focused because we have to be at 100 per cent to win this game and we know that.”

England will face off against France at Al Bayt Stadium at 19:00 GMT on December 10. The Three Lions’ record is poor against Les Bleus, losing four of their last six duels, drawing once and registering a single victory.


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