Kyle Walker insists he will not let Kylian Mbappe ruin his World Cup dream as England and France meet on Saturday.
The World Cup quarter-final pits the European Championship runners’-up and a team who appear to be on the ascendancy against the defending world champions in the biggest test of the Gareth Southgate era thus far.
Walker’s battle with Kylian Mbappe, who has already scored five times in Qatar, has been highlighted as a key factor in deciding who will make the final eight.
The Manchester City defender recovered from injury to make Southgate’s 26-man squad and has played the last two games, looking certain to start up against the in-form Mbappe on the opposing flank.
"Obviously it’s always going to help because I’ve played against him a few times,” he said at Wednesday’s pre-match press conference in Al Wakrah.
"But he’s a great player in great form so it’s not going to be an easy task. But as a professional you want to play against the best players and he is one of the best players in the world."
Walker is the only England defender with anything like the speed Mbappe boasts but the 32-year-old insists Saturday’s opposition have quality all over the pitch.
"Of course I understand the focus and I understand what I need to do to stop him. It’s easier said than done but I don’t underestimate myself,” Walker added.
"I’ve come up against some of the best players in the world but I have to treat it just as another game. You have to give him respect but not too much.
"Yes it will be a tough game but a team cannot just be about one person.
“The game is not England vs Mbappe. It’s England vs France. I’m not going to roll out a red carpet for him and tell him to score. It’s a World Cup, it’s do or die.
"I’m not going home so I’m not going to let him ruin that for my family."
