England have lined up with a back four at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier sharing right-back duties, but Scott Minto believes manager Gareth Southgate could revert to a back three with wing-backs to stifle Kylian Mbappe ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final clash with France.
England v France: What will the outcome be?
England to win
Draw
France to win
He said in talkSPORT’s World Cup preview: “At the start of the World Cup, Gareth Southgate would have said that we’ll probably win our group and France will probably win theirs, so we’ll probably meet in the quarter-finals.
“He’s been happy to go with a back four, but (I think) in the back of his mind (he) was always planning for a back three. Because, how do you stop Mbappe? You try not to let him have the ball first and foremost.
“And the easiest thing to do is have Kyle Walker behind him and Kieran Trippier in front.”
Walker was fortunate to make England’s World Cup squad as he was injured leading up the tournament and would miss most of the group stages. He was out of the matchday squad for the 6-2 win over Iran and was an unused substitute in the 0-0 draw with USA but returned for the 3-0 win over Wales, playing for 57 minutes.
Walker then played a full 90 minutes in England’s 3-0 win over Senegal, so he’s greatly improved his match fitness and should get the nod against France. But Minto doesn’t think it will be at Trippier’s expense. He predicts Walker will be a makeshift right-sided centre-back to match Mbappe’s pace if Trippier misses the initial tackle.
It makes sense to have the 32-year-old be sweeping cover due to his excessive pace, but Walker isn’t 100%. He wasn’t at his best against Senegal and found them hard to contain at times, so it’s not a perfect plan. Walker didn’t have the luxury of coming into the tournament fully fit, so it’s a big ask to shut down Mbappe – a player with five goals and two assists from three starts.
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