France are ready to ‘mess’ with the whole England team to nullify their scoring threat.
A feature of the Three Lions’ progress has been goals flying in from an array of players, with eight men on target already and 12 goals scored in four games.
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate says that means France know they cannot simply focus on one threat in their quarter-final meeting, despite being all-too aware of Harry Kane’s powers.
‘Kane is a great player. I’ve played against him several times,’ said the Liverpool centre-back of Tottenham’s star man.
‘We have to look at the whole team, not just one player. If we play together, and stay compact we can do well. I would not target a single player.
‘Soccer is not played with one, two or four players. We have to talk about the collective, how to mess with them collectively.
‘It’s the coach’s job to show us what we don’t see.’
Whereas England’s goals have been spread around, although Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford have three apiece, Kylian Mbappe has scored five of France’s nine goals with Olivier Giroud netting three, making the threats more identifiable for England coach Gareth Southgate.
Midfielder Adrien Rabiot, however, does not believe it is a problem for Les Bleus, saying: ‘We’re not dependent on Kylian.
‘We just know that 80-90 per cent of our goals will come from him as he can also deliver assists, and our job is to put him in the best conditions for that.’
Juventus star Rabiot said the Premier League ‘still attracts him’, after a summer move to Manchester United fell through.
Mbappe missed Tuesday’s group training session to do recovery work on his own but Konate played down any significance to that, saying: ‘Yesterday was a short session, there is nothing to worry about, he was doing some work inside.’
MORE : Raheem Sterling considering return to England’s World Cup squad in Qatar after armed home robbery
MORE : Kyle Walker sends warning to Kylian Mbappe ahead of England vs France World Cup quarter-final
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Share your story or advertise with us: Whatsapp: +2347068606071 Email: info@newspotng.com
