Bukayo Saka admits "there's only one Kylian Mbappe" after being compared to the France star.
Mbappe helped Les Blues win the World Cup four years ago in Russia, scoring in the final as he enjoyed a breakout tournament. The PSG star was named as the best young player and has continued to flourish, leading the goalscoring charts in Qatar after a brace against Poland.
Saka is two years Mbappe's junior and is performing impressively in his first World Cup. The Arsenal man scored England's first goal of the tournament and notched against Senegal thanks to a smart finish. His displays have seen him quizzed on comparisons with Mbappe, who made the world take note on the global stage in 2018.
Saka, though, has played down the idea that he could be this tournament's Mbappe. He said: "Thank you for your compliment, but no...there's only one Kylian Mbappe. At the same time, there's only one me, I just want to be myself and help my team in the best way I can. There's a lot of young players in this tournament, I can name so many.
"Even in our team there's another young player alongside us doing unbelievably well in Jude Bellingham. I'm just happy that we're all here and doing well and the priority is to try and win the tournament, rather than be the Player of the Tournament or the Young Player of the Tournament."
Saka sat out England's final group game against Wales, which the Three Lions won 3-0. There was debate as to whether Gareth Southgate would bring him back into the fold for the last 16 win over Senegal, but the Arsenal star justified his selection.
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Mbappe was in sensational form on Sunday evening as he continued to showcase his brilliance. Both his strikes against Poland earned huge plaudits and the world champions will now face England in the last 16 on Saturday.
"The rivalry in this World Cup is big - two nations that have performed exceptionally well," Saka said on the quarter-final. "We've followed them and we see the quality they have. it's going to be an exciting game. Obviously we know the quality they have, but we know our own quality also. We just have to play our best game.'
He went on to add: "I think of course this [England] team has a lot players that have played in big tournaments - a lot of tournament experience. The last few tournaments we've done well. When the big games come we have a lot of players that know what they need to do."
