ENGLAND have the only player “on the planet” that can stop France superstar Kylian Mbappe in the 2022 World Cup, claim Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville.
The Three Lions and Les Bleus both punched their ticket to the Last 16 where they will face Senegal and Poland respectively.
If Gareth Southgate and Didier Deschamps’ teams make it out of the Round of 16 they will face each other in a crunch quarter-final clash.
That means England’s defence will go up against Paris Saint-Germain superstar Mbappe, who has already scored three goals and bagged one assist in three World Cup games.
However, Ferdinand and Neville insist the Euro 2020 finalists have nothing to fear as they have the right man to keep the star forward quiet.
And that is none other than Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker.
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Ferdinand said on his FIVE show: “For me, Kyle Walker is the only defender on the planet right now that will stand there and go to Mbappe: ‘Right, 1-v-1, let’s have a race’.
“He will back himself too. We saw it in the Euros. He’s got the confidence to do that and he’s the only one capable of doing that I think.”
Neville echoed his former Manchester United team-mate’s statement as he feels Walker has the right pace, physicality and experience to deal with Mbappe.
The former England international added that this is a “collision course waiting to happen”.
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Neville told Sky Sports: “I always thought we’d play three at the back in this tournament, but I don’t think we will now.
“I didn’t think the centre-back pairing would be strong enough, but John Stones and Harry Maguire are holding up.
“It’s whether what they’ve played against so far in the first three games is going to be anything like what they face moving forward, and I don’t think it is.
“It looks like a collision course waiting to happen doesn’t it? Mbappe versus Walker.
“We’ve got the perfect right-back to deal with Mbappe if anyone can – physical, pace, experience.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
