Kyle Walker won’t give ‘best in the world’ Kylian Mbappe ‘too much respect’

Kyle Walker has vowed to make life as difficult as possible for Kylian Mbappe when the two meet in England’s quarter-final with France on Saturday.

The pair have had many exciting battles at club level in the Champions League and Walker’s press conference on Wednesday was dominated by questions about how he can override the reigning top scorer in Qatar.

“The game is not England against Mbappé, it is England against France,” Walker said optimistically.

“We’ll give him respect, but I’m not going to roll out a red carpet for him to score.” It’s do or die like we lose and go home.

He added, when asked how you stop someone as talented as Mbappe: “I understand what I have to do and that is to stop him.” This is probably easier said than done, but I don’t underestimate myself.

“I’ve met great players before, so I treat it like another game.

I’ll give him the respect he deserves, but not too much because this is England. No player makes a team. This is not tennis, this is not a solo sport.

Ahead of the round of 16 win over Senegal, Gareth Southgate was urged by BBC presenter Gary Lineker to rest Walker so he would be well rested for the challenge of facing Mbappe.

Lineker, speaking on the BBC, suggested that Walker is so crucial in dealing with the Mbappe threat against France, and that he needed to be protected at all costs in a game England were expected to win handily, as they did, with a 3- 0 win

“Why would you play Kyle Walker when he’s the only winger on the planet who could keep up with Kylian Mbappe?” Lineker asked.

‘No disrespect to Senegal, but you have to give him rest. Especially in an area where we are blessed and could play with Kieran Trippier or Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Walker went on to play 90 minutes.

The showdown between Walker and Mbappé, the star man at the World Cup thus far, feels like the key ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

sports mail Columnist Danny Murphy insists that England are the nation “best equipped” to nullify Mbappé, given Walker’s pace.

“He has done it before in Champions League games and I remember a situation where Walker invited him to the line because he fell back at his own pace. I think Mbappé turned down the chance to run at Manchester City’s right-back! Murphy wrote in the last column about him.

“That’s not to say that Mbappe isn’t smart enough to try to counter by moving inside and annoying other defenders. England can beat France even with Mbappé.

But while Murphy is convinced Walker is ready to take it one step at a time with the in-form Frenchman, his display against Senegal was a cause for concern for another columnist.

Martin Keown was left thinking about World Cup Confidential: sports mail Y MailPlus’ Daily video feed from Qatar: Earlier this week, if Walker was as fit as he needed to be heading into such a big game.

‘Is he really into it yet?’ Keown said, adding that the Man City defender “doesn’t seem as quick” as he did when he returned from a groin problem that developed before the tournament began.

The former Arsenal star added that he doesn’t think Walker can “close the door” on Mbappe alone, suggesting that Southgate give him help, perhaps in a formation adjustment, to further limit Mbappe’s influence.

Walker has been confident when he faced Mbappé in the UEFA Champions League, knowing that the Frenchman’s pace, which Polish right-back Matty Cash called “the fastest I’ve ever seen”, is not an overwhelming advantage given his own greyhound form. trends.

Both Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand agree with the statement that Walker is the “only defender on the planet” who can stop Mbappé in a foot race.

speaking in his Youtube channelFerdinand said: ‘To me, Kyle Walker is the only defender on the planet right now who will stand there and go to Mbappe: ‘Okay, 1-v-1, let’s have a run.

‘He will also support himself. We saw it at the Eurocup. He has the confidence to do that and I think he is the only one capable of doing it.

Neville, speaking on Sky Sports, added: “It seems like a collision course waiting to happen, doesn’t it? Mbappé against Walker.

“We have the perfect right-back to deal with Mbappé if anyone can: physicality, pace, experience.”

Walker would be wise to listen to Cash’s verdict, given that it was he who received the evasion from Mbappe in France’s riotous 3-1 win over Poland in the round of 16.

“Incredible, obviously incredible, probably my toughest opponent,” Cash said when asked what it was like facing Mbappe, who would go on to score two of France’s three goals.

“I spent the afternoon watching your clips, but I’m watching the videos while I’m lying in bed. In real life, it’s burning my legs, that’s the difference. It is a big difference.

‘It’s a different level. I play in the Premier League week in and week out, and I play against top-class wingers, but he’s easily going to be the best player in the world. Speed, movement, he looks at the finish of it.

Has it all. She put two in the upper corner, one on the left and one on the right.

The Villa defender added: ‘I didn’t know whether to go down or push.

‘When I got closer, he just turned back. When he gets the ball, he stops and moves, it’s the fastest I’ve ever seen. When he stands you up and moves, he does it very well. He drops his shoulder, goes short then long.

‘His game plan is to take the ball to extremes and when it’s one-on-one you have to try and stop it. I did everything I could, when it was one on one I thought I did well against him. I got into a couple of races with him and it went well. You look over his shoulder and he is there.

‘He didn’t really run me once. There were times when he had space on the counter-attack, which is where he scored the second goal and that was what changed the game, when they were up 2-0.

‘That’s where it hurts teams. He’s probably in the top two or three best players in the world right now.”

Given his Premier League experience, Cash knows Walker’s game well and believes the England man has a better chance of containing Mbappe than he and Poland.

“Kyle Walker is as fast as Mbappe,” Cash said. He is the best right-back in England and he has a lot more experience than me.

‘I don’t need to tell you anything. So if anyone is going to stop Mbappe, Kyle Walker is the man. He is also fast.