FRENCH newspaper L’Equipe have named Harry Maguire as England’s dangerman ahead of their crunch World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
Gareth Southgate’s side face off against the reigning world champions for a place in the last four in Qatar.
Kylian Mbappe has been widely discussed as France’s key man heading into the tie after his five goals in four games in Qatar.
He has already netted nine times in just 11 appearances across his two World Cups and is one of the most frightening stars at the tournament.
For England, many would label the likes of Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka or Jude Bellingham as the team’s main threat.
But L’Equipe have identified centre-back Maguire as the one member of the Three Lions squad to watch out for this weekend.
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The Manchester United defender’s prowess at set-pieces is a fear for many teams.
He should have been awarded a penalty after being brought down in the box during a corner in the Iran win.
And minutes later he was inches away from scoring from another corner, crashing a header off the crossbar.
Only Kane, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford have scored more goals for England since Southgate took over – with the United man hitting the back of the net seven times in 52 caps for his country.
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France conceded from a corner against Denmark in the group stage.
And the French press are wary of Maguire as they bid to keep their hopes of defending the World Cup trophy alive.
In particular, they are concerned about England’s screening of Maguire at corners (putting a man in front of him to stop defenders from getting close).
L’Equipe said: “One of the great English strengths is the screen: as in basketball, a team-mate positions himself in the trajectory of Maguire’s marker and blocks him or forces him to go around him, which will free the defender of Manchester United.”
They then went on to add: “The Englishman exudes plenty of upper body power and uses his arms to gain the upper hand.”
Meanwhile, much of the focus heading into the game is on the blockbuster battle between Mbappe and England right-back Kyle Walker.
But the Manchester City man is not intimidated by the Paris Saint-Germain forward.
Speaking about the match-up with Mbappe, Walker said: “The game isn’t England v Mbappe, it’s England vs France.
“We will give respect but I’m not going to roll out a red carpet for him to score. It’s do or die as if we lose we go home.
“I do understand what I need to do and that’s to stop him. It’s probably easier said than done but I don’t underestimate myself.
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“I’ve come across great players before so I just treat it like another game.
“I’ll give him the respect he deserves but not too much because this is England. No one player makes a team. This isn’t tennis, it isn’t a solo sport.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
