When Gareth Southgate pores over France’s win over Poland, he will undoubtedly be drawn to the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe.
The 23-year-old was at his best again, scoring twice and assisting Olivier Giroud as the defending champions won 3-1 to set up a quarter-final clash with England.
“He is the quickest thing I have ever seen,” said Poland right-back Matty Cash. “I watched videos of him while lying in bed… but in real life he is burning my legs!”
France and Mbappe will be formidable opponents but Poland yesterday exposed vulnerabilities that England could exploit on Saturday night.
Full-back is an area of weakness in the French side. Poland created several chances in the first half as they got joy out wide. Jules Kounde is a centre-back who looks uncomfortable at right-back, while left-back Theo Hernandez’s hunger to bomb on leaves space in behind him.
Add that the two France wingers, Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, are prone to not tracking back and Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden might be licking their lips at the space on the break. Midfield will also be a key area. France are without N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba, and 22-year-old Aurelien Tchouameni has essentially been tasked with replacing them both.
Tchouameni has impressed in Qatar but at times against Poland he was overrun before being substituted after 66 minutes. Ahead of Tchouameni is Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann, who plays in a deeper role than he did four years ago.
Southgate is likely to see the benefit of sticking with a three-man midfield to match France’s 4-3-3 formation.
Against Mbappe, Southgate may be tempted to revert to a three-man defence, but now feels like the moment for England to stick rather than twist and impose themselves on France.
England have found an effective midfield, with Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson helping Jude Bellingham shine, and they are capable of dominating the French midfield three.
Griezmann’s role underlines how the France team is set up to get the best out of Mbappe, and the same goes for Rabiot.
Without the ball, Rabiot shifts across to help Hernandez at left-back and cover for Mbappe not tracking back. In attack, he pushes high to occupy one of the centre-backs and give Mbappe more space.
Stopping Mbappe is, of course, the toughest assignment for England and the key will be stopping the service to him, which is why the midfield is even more crucial.
England must have dominance in that area of the pitch, or else there is a danger they will become the latest side at this tournament to fall victim to the Paris Saint-Germain superstar.
“In terms of France, it is the biggest test that we face,” said Southgate. “They have incredible depth of talent. Outstanding individual players. They are difficult to play against and score goals against. It’s a fantastic challenge.”
