Sven Goran Eriksson believes Kieran Trippier should regain his England place against France this weekend. The Three Lions brushed aside Senegal in emphatic fashion last night to clinch a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals.
A comfortable 3-0 victory sets up arguably the tie of the round with reigning champions France. Pre-match talk is already centring around Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.
The 23-year-old - viewed by many as the world’s best player - is the top scorer in Qatar with five goals and bagged a brace in Le Bleus' 3-1 win over Poland. Stopping left-sided attacker Mbappe poses a difficult question for Gareth Southgate when selecting his England team.
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Newcastle United talisman Trippier started the tournament at right-back and is one of Southgate’s most trusted lieutenants. However, he lost his place in the starting line-up for Kyle Walker in the previous two games.
Pace is viewed as an essential asset when planning for Mbappe, which favours the Manchester City man - who has that in abundance. Another controversial option is to play both, but that would mean switching from the four-at-the-back system which has worked wonders so far.
Southgate has switched to a more pragmatic formation in previous tournaments when facing elite opposition. Mixed success at Euro 2020 saw England beat Germany 2-0 but lose on penalties to Italy in the final.
Former Three Lions boss Eriksson thinks reverting to a back five should be considered to try and nullify the Frenchman. He told BoyleSports : “It will be very interesting to see what Gareth Southgate does to stop Mbappe.
“France is not only Mbappe but he's definitely their biggest threat. He can do something out of nothing. His dribbling is fantastic but he can also finish incredibly well. I wouldn't be surprised if England start with five defenders. I think Southgate will play Trippier as the right wing-back and Kyle Walker will move to centre-back.
“They will need two players to track Mbappe but it wouldn't surprise me if he was still a massive danger. His two goals against Poland were incredible. He more or less thundered it into the net standing still!”
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