Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann have been warned that Ireland are ‘out to do a job on them’ tonight.
The new France skipper and vice-captain combined to lethal effect in Friday’s 4-0 demolition of the Netherlands, scoring three of the four goals between them.
Atlético Madrid star Griezmann showed just how dangerous he can be when given space in the pockets, by arriving late to slam home the opener after two minutes.
And Mbappe scored in both halves in a show of French strength and determination ahead of tonight’s clash with Ireland.
But Josh Cullen insists the Boys in Green won’t just make life difficult for Les Blues, they will ask serious questions of them too.
Snuffing out the Mbappe and Griezmann threat is a starting point, though, and Cullen accepts that is easier said than done.
“I can’t give Griezmann enough compliments or speak highly enough of him. He’s an unbelievable player over a number of years for club and country,” said the Burnley ace.
“I’ve a lot of respect for him but tonight, once kick-off comes, that goes out the window. We’re there to do a job on him and the rest of the team to try and get the result.
“They’re a great team with great players, playing at the elite level of the game. As midfield battles go, it’s going to be strongly contested.
“But we’re in a good place ourselves and are looking forward to trying to make it a special night and pull off a special result.”
Cullen added: “We’ve prepared for a long time now to come up against a good team like this. You respect the opponent, respect the strengths they have.
“But you also analyse them and know where we can hurt them. It won’t be a one way street of just trying to contain them. We have our plans to try to hurt them.”
Cullen, who was crowned FAI Player of the Year in November, sat out Wednesday’s friendly win over Latvia with tonight in mind.
And the Premier League-bound midfielder will be tasked with plugging the gaps that Latvia exposed with two quick-fire goals from distance to set alarm bells ringing.
Burnley got the runaround from Manchester City’s galaxy of stars in last week’s 6-0 FA Cup quarter-final rout - and, on paper at least, this challenge doesn’t look any easier.
Cullen, who studied France during the World Cup, said: “It’s not going to be easy. We have to be full of belief and be confident in our own plan.
“As a player, you watch games and think about how you might influence a match against the opposition you’re coming up against.
“We’ve planned all week for this game - and back further over the last two years under the manager, with the style we want to play.
“All roads are leading to this moment. We’re really clear in our heads about what we'll try to do tonight and we’re looking forward to it.”
Cullen added: “Tonight is right up there in terms of the stature of games that I’ve played in.
“But we can take confidence from the games we’ve had against the so-called bigger nations over the last couple of years.”
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