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Sports / Football

Walker confident he can stop Mbappe in England vs France quarter-final

Published: 08 Dec 2022 - 08:58 am | Last Updated: 08 Dec 2022 - 09:02 am
England’s defender Kyle Walker

England’s defender Kyle Walker

Kyle Walker has said England’s quarter-final against reigning champions France is a match between two teams and it’s not only about his side facing Kylian Mbappe in the highly-anticipated clash.     

The European heavyweights will square off at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals after recording comfortable wins in the last 16 stage. The Three Lions beat Senegal 3-0 while Les Bleus defeated Poland 3-1 to ease into quarters.    

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 very great players. Walker is one of the best right-backs in the world, I can’t wait to see this battle,” said the defender. 

“Kylian is impressive. He has been evolving and becoming even better. I don’t know where he will stop. We are lucky to have him in our team and not against us,” he added. 

Saturday’s quarter-final will be the first knockout match between France and England at a major tournament.