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Luke Shaw insists it would be ‘naive’ for England to focus solely on Kylian Mbappe as ‘France have brilliant players all over the pitch’… and the defender says the Three Lions will need to step up in the quarters World Cup final
- England take on the reigning world champions at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday
- Keeping Mbappé quiet could be the key to success for the Southgate team
- The French striker Mbappé has already scored five goals in the World Cup
Luke Shaw thinks it would be ‘naive’ for England to focus solely on the threat of Kylian Mbappe in their World Cup quarter-final clash against France.
England beat Senegal 3-0 in their round of 16 meeting on Sunday to set up a date with the reigning world champions at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Keeping Mbappe quiet would help Gareth Southgate’s men win on Saturday night, the Paris St Germain striker having already scored five goals in Qatar, including two in their 3-1 win over Poland which saw them advance to the last eight.
French striker Kylian Mbappé has already scored five goals in the World Cup
But, with the likes of Olivier Giroud, now France’s all-time record goalscorer, and Antoine Griezmann also expected to play against England, Shaw insists there are plenty of other players to worry about.
“Obviously, after his performance (against Poland), he will be talked about even more, but we know he is a world-class player,” the Manchester United full-back said.
I think it would be very naive of us to focus exclusively on him. They are reigning world champions for a reason and we need to focus on them as a whole team.
“They have brilliant players all over the pitch so we’re not going to focus entirely on him, but it’s an incredible tie to be in and that’s why we’re here.”
England impressed in all areas when they defeated Senegal, a performance that pleased Shaw but also one that the 27-year-old knows the team must use to boost confidence heading into the quarter-finals.
France also boasts the goalscoring feats of Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann
“I think we are very happy with the win, another clean sheet, obviously,” he added.
‘We were more clinical in front of the goal. We also defended well, without too many chances for them.
“Obviously in the first half a couple of sloppy passes from us put us under pressure, but other than that overall I think it’s a solid performance and what a game I’m looking forward to.”
‘He needs to give us confidence and belief, obviously it’s not going to be easy. They are reigning world champions and they are for a reason.
“It will be a very difficult game and mentally we have to be ready and focused because we have to be 100 percent to win this game and we know it.”
England defender Luke Shaw is ready for a ‘very tough game’ against France on Saturday
While England and France were projected to meet at this stage, some of the other nations that would have been seen as early favorites have already fallen by the wayside.
Germany and Belgium were knocked out in the group stage and Shaw believes England’s progress shows they are doing something right.
“It’s been an incredible tournament, incredible to watch and it shows that no game is easy,” he added.
We always talk before about the favorites and this and that, and when you come to a World Cup it’s always different: the atmosphere, the game, the heat.
“It’s all things that you need to get used to and I think you’ve seen with a couple of the big names that maybe you think they should go through and it shows that we’re obviously doing the right thing at the moment, but I think we have to go up another level because France is a very good team.’