DOHA: England鈥檚 players have been asked one question on repeat as they prepare to face France in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. How do you stop Kylian Mbapp茅?
Hardly surprising, given Mbapp茅 is the tournament鈥檚 leading scorer with five goals and is widely considered the man to succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as soccer鈥檚 biggest star.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure England will have prepared to face Kylian,鈥� France coach Didier Deschamps said at a news conference Friday. 鈥淏ut Kylian is in the position to make a difference.
鈥淜ylian is Kylian and he always will be.鈥�
There is no sense of France trying manage expectations of their star player, even as the hype surrounding him grows with each stellar performance in Qatar.
He has already scored one more goal than the four he managed as his country won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In the round of 16, he struck twice as the defending champions beat Poland 3-1, with two thunderous shots past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
鈥淗e cannot be compared to other players,鈥� said teammate Dayot Upamecano.
鈥淲e all believe in Kylian,鈥� added Youssouf Fofana.
Mbapp茅 is being depicted as an unstoppable force in Qatar 鈥� something England defender Kyle Walker pushed back against this week.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how to say it even more: I feel he is a top player. I鈥檓 not underestimating that one bit, but we are not playing tennis, it鈥檚 not a solo sport,鈥� he said after being faced with a series of questions about the Paris Saint-Germain striker.
But France鈥檚 players seem happy to feed the narrative that Mbapp茅 is simply unstoppable.
鈥淚f he (Walker) can stop Kylian Mbapp茅, good for him,鈥� added Fofana. 鈥淏ut 19 other teams in Ligue 1 have been waiting for the solution. The truth will come from the pitch.鈥�
Walker will have the job of trying to limit the damage Mbapp茅 can inflict on England鈥檚 defense at Al Bayt Stadium. But rather than merely trying to contain France鈥檚 biggest threat, discussion this week has been about how bold Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate is prepared to be in response.
England reached the semifinals in 2018 and the final of last year鈥檚 European Championships.
On both occasions Southgate was criticized for a cautious approach, even though England only lost on a penalty shootout to Italy at the Euros.
鈥淚 very much like Gareth. If I understand correctly, not everyone appreciates him so much in his own country,鈥� noted Deschamps.
England lost 2-1 to Croatia four years ago and the shootout loss to Italy came after a 1-1 draw at Wembley.
England had taken the lead in both matches, and Southgate was accused of adopting defensive tactics to try to protect the lead.
His team has played with more freedom at this World Cup, with a more attacking style leading to 12 goals in four games to tie Portugal as leading scorers.
Southgate has opted to play with a back four in the tournament so far, but could switch to a five-man defense to try to cope with Mbapp茅.
鈥淣obody was complaining about us playing a five before we reached the Euros final,鈥� said Walker. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a bit harsh to judge him on what we鈥檝e done previously. I think at this tournament we have been playing good attacking football and scoring a lot of goals.鈥�
After coming close in their last two major tournaments, Walker believes England are ready to win this time around. Beating France, he says, would be evidence of that.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity to put a stamp down and to say that we are a good team and we can achieve great things, and give us the belief that we can win this,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not saying we don鈥檛 believe, but to beat a big team like that in a quarter-final, they鈥檙e the reigning world champions, that will give us great confidence 鈥� not arrogance but confidence.鈥�