Luke Shaw has cautioned England that focusing on stopping Kylian Mbappe before their World Cup quarter-final against France would be ‘naive.’
Mbappe has been the tournament’s best player, leading the Golden Boot race with five goals in four games, to go along with two assists.
He’s the apparent threat, but Luke Shaw has reminded England’s teammates that France is the current world champions for a reason – they’re more than a one-man show.
“Obviously, following his performance (against Poland), there will be even more talk about him,” Shaw said. “But we know he’s a world-class player.” “I believe it would be incredibly naïve of us to concentrate just on him. They are world champions for a reason, and we must concentrate on them as a whole.
Matty Cash picks the winner of Kylian Mbappe vs. Kyle Walker.
“They have excellent players all over the field, so we’re not going to concentrate entirely on him, but it’s an incredible tie to be a part of, and that’s why we’re here.”
Along with Mbappe, France has depended on solid performances from Antoine Griezmann, Adrien Rabiot, and Olivier Giroud, the latter of whom has surpassed Thierry Henry to become the national team’s all-time top scorer.
“It’s evident that it won’t be simple. “They are the defending world champs for a reason,” Shaw added. “It will be a difficult game, and we must be psychologically prepared and focused because we have to be at 100% to win this game, and we know that.”
“It’s been a wonderful tournament, an incredible one to witness,” the Manchester United left-back continued.
“We constantly talk about the favorites and this and that, but when you arrive at a World Cup, everything changes – the mood, the game, the heat.”
“It’s all stuff you have to get accustomed to, and I think you’ve seen with a few of the big names you may think should be through aren’t, which shows we’re certainly doing the right things right now, but I believe we need to move up another level because France is a very talented squad.”
