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IF I had to pick one defender in the world to handle Kylian Mbappe, I could not think of a better right-back than Kyle Walker.And he might just turn out to be the one who holds the key to England reaching their second World Cup semi-final in a row.
Redknapp is backing Walker to ‘handle’ MbappeCredit: Getty
Mbappe is the World Cup 2022 top scorer with five goalsCredit: Getty
It doesn’t take a genius to realise that Mbappe is the biggest danger to our chances when we play France on Saturday.
You need someone special to deal with a player like that — and Kyle is the perfect man for the job.
I know exactly how good he is because I was his manager for three years at Tottenham. He’s an even better player now.
He’s quick, strong and as tough a man to beat one-on-one as anyone. In short, the ideal man to cope with Mbappe’s speed and power.
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But Walker might just be England’s secret attacking weapon down the right wing as well — if he chooses the right moments to bomb forward.
Mbappe is obviously a massive threat, we all know that, but he’s not a modern wide player who you’ll see charging back to help his defence.
When he loses possession he tends to walk around, hang about the halfway line waiting for France to win it back and get it up to him again.
As a right-back, that leaves you with a decision to make — can I trust my winger if I do go or am I risking getting caught out of position if he gives it away?
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Walker’s touch map against Senegal
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Well in Walker’s case, when the moment is right he definitely CAN trust Bukayo Saka, because he’s such a clever player.
If you’ve got a scatterbrain up there, you worry about going on the overlap because if they lose possession, you’re going to get punished by someone as good as Mbappe.
But Saka’s a good player, he knows how to protect the ball and find Kyle at just the right time — and that’s how we can open France up down the right-hand side.
So while the big danger lies down Mbappe’s flank, it’s an area where we can hurt France as much as they can hurt us.
Kyle just has to choose the right time to go, probably only a couple of times in each half, but we will get chances from it — and they could be the difference.
That’s when it will be vital Jordan Henderson is aware and realise that if Walker’s gone, he must be prepared to drop in and cover.
I see it very much as a 50-50 game but I tell you one thing — I genuinely wouldn’t swap our squad for theirs.
And while everyone in England seems to be worrying about Mbappe, they’ll be doing the same about Harry Kane. I’m sure France defender Rafael Varane is.
Harry’s had a bit of criticism from some but against Senegal he was absolutely fantastic, linking play and bringing people into it.
Getting his first goal will give him a big boost — not that he’s ever short of confidence — and he’ll be bang up for this.
Kane looks right on top of his game again and we’ve seen what he can do at a World Cup when that’s the case.
Saka and Phil Foden will always be threats whoever they’re up against, while I look at the strength on the bench and just think, ‘Wow’.
Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, Mason Mount . . . the talent we’ve got to bring on is better than anyone’s.
And then of course there is Jude Bellingham, who is already a phenomenal player and having such a great tournament.
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To me it’s a really good squad, so why shouldn’t we go all the way this time?
First things first, though, let’s beat France — then we really can start to dream.
England are averaging 65 per cent possession in Qatar More

IT WAS easy to see why Gareth Bale got all the headlines after winning — and scoring — the penalty that earned Wales a point against the United States.I’d now rate him alongside John Charles as the greatest Welsh footballer of all time — and as someone who saw the Gentle Giant play, I never thought I’d say that.
Gareth Bale has already made his mark on the World Cup for WalesCredit: Getty
Harry Redknapp thinks he knows how Wales can make it through the groupCredit: Splash
What a career he’s had — and what a dream he is for a manager. I know that as well as anyone after working with him at Tottenham.
He’s very similar to Luka Modric in that they’re both family men, both great trainers, great attitudes, perfect role models… as is Harry Kane, I should point out.
You’re never worried about picking up the paper and seeing pictures of any of them falling out of a nightclub or making the wrong sort of headlines.
When he took the penalty against the US, there was no doubt where it was ending up.

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It might sound obvious but what a striker of a football Gareth is.
So Gareth scored the goal and got the spotlight… but he wasn’t the one who changed the game for Wales.
That was Kieffer Moore, who came on at half-time and gave a perfect example of everything I say about the modern game — that the age of the big, bullocking centre- forward has gone.
Years ago every team would have a Duncan Ferguson-type figure. A forward who’d put themselves about, be a real nuisance and was generally just a real handful.
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And the centre-halves trying to cope with them obviously had to be big and strong as well to meet the challenge.
If you were up against a 6ft 4in fella built like a brick outhouse, you would have to be a certain build yourself or you would just be bullied out of it.
But the modern striker is all about movement, buzzing around, and the centre-backs changed accordingly. They got smaller as well — became more footballing defenders.
So when Wales chucked Moore into the equation on Monday, suddenly they were a totally different team and the States really couldn’t cope.
Kieffer Moore could be the answer to Wales’ World Cup hopesCredit: Reuters
There was a focal point to the team, which allowed Bale to get forward and on the ball a lot more… and we saw what happened.
Now, at 33, Gareth’s not running past opponents so much but popping up all over the pitch — and he only needs half a yard in that final third to get a shot away.
As for Moore, I’ve seen a lot of him at Bournemouth this season and he wins virtually every header he goes for, whether it’s corners, free-kicks or long balls from the back.
You play it up to him, he holds it up, backs into defenders and puts the fear of God up them because they’re simply not used to playing against blokes like him any more.
These days everyone wants to be a No 10, strolling around the place, buzzing round feet.
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Kieffer is a great throwback to the old-school strikers but the other night he was the one who changed everything for Wales.
He might not have got the headlines his performance deserved — but I’m sure he got plenty off Gareth and the rest of the Welsh lads, because they’ve got a right chance now. More

AFTER a dozen years of raging controversy over corruption, tragedies and hideous human-rights abuses, we finally get to the actual football.This may be a World Cup in a nation which is too small, played at the wrong time of year and in a culture alien to most of us.
Qatar and Ecuador will meet in the World Cup curtain raiser at the Al Bayt StadiumCredit: Getty
The 22nd World Cup gets underway in Qatar on SundayCredit: AP
But, four weeks from now, that famous golden trophy will be lifted and champions will be crowned.
Fifa’s increasingly-deranged boss Gianni Infantino — a man who staged a love-in with Vladimir Putin at the last World Cup — has been ordering us to concentrate on football rather than politics.
So here we go then, at 4pm UK time, a curtain-raiser to the greatest sporting jamboree on Earth which you normally wouldn’t open your curtains to watch if it was being played in your back garden.
Qatar, ranked 50th in the world, against Ecuador, 44th in the standings — two nations who possibly shouldn’t even be at the World Cup at all.
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Hosts Qatar have never qualified for the finals, while their opponents have been up to their necks in bother over the eligibility of full-back Byron Castillo — an affair which almost saw them kicked out.
And after this tournament, won by the Qataris under false pretences, was moved from summer to winter, this fixture was switched from Monday to Sunday in a World Cup that they are making up as they go along.
At least the latest U-turn, the 11th-hour banning of alcohol inside stadiums — for rank-and-file supporters but not the corporate freeloaders, of course — could be seen as a minor triumph for human rights.
Any beer lover will tell you that the inability to pay 12 quid for a Budweiser is a blessing rather than a curse.
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To be in Doha in the build-up to this tournament is a deeply strange experience.
This is a hastily-constructed, ultra-modern metropolis built around what was a small, traditional Arab city — at the cost of the lives of thousands of mistreated migrant workers — the skyscrapers as well as the tournament’s eight stadia, all within 30 miles of one another.
But despite the cultural differences and the moral outrages, you can still discover pockets of World Cup fever.
In central Doha, you will see thousands of locals walking around in replica Argentina shirts with Lionel Messi’s name and No 10 on their backs.
As soon as their own team are dumped out — and Qatar are highly likely to follow South Africa as the only previous World Cup host nation to exit at the group stage — they will throw their weight behind Messi and Co.
The little maestro’s move to Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain made sure of that.
Downtown Doha is now starting to resemble the united-nations melting pot of previous World Cups — the Latin Americans, in particular, travelling in vast numbers as they always do.
Scores of global TV companies have set up their studios in front of the Souq Waqif — the historic marketplace which gives their coverage a rare backdrop of authentic Arab culture in this marble-and-concrete jungle.
Close by, dozens of soporific camels doze around.
And at a neighbouring booth, tourists are invited to ‘Try On Qatari Dress — It’s Amazing!’
But football fans must strive to find an oasis of western hedonism in this desert.
On the 14th floor of a central hotel, there is an Irish bar serving Guinness at £15 a pint to supporters with deep pockets and raging thirsts from every corner of the globe.
Qatar won the right to stage this World Cup, way back in 2010, thanks to Fifa corruption — with their crooked former boss Sepp Blatter recently admitting this had been a mistake due to the host nation’s inadequate size.
As culture wars raged over migrant-worker deaths and the illegality of homosexuality in Qatar — as well as those beer prices — many who would normally follow England at major tournaments chose to stay well away.
And that was before an appalling Qatari World Cup ambassador recently described homosexuality as a ‘damage of the mind’.
These issues have completely overshadowed Qatar’s own footballing prospects.
Their Spanish manager Felix Sanchez presides over a squad consisting entirely of players who compete in Qatar’s domestic league — and who have been frequently withdrawn from club matches to go on lengthy remote training camps.
Sanchez said: “We consider ourselves very competitive and worthy of being here, even if the favourites, on paper, should be Ecuador.
“We are a small country and have to work with what we’ve got. The players have spent long periods of time, making a massive sacrifice, being away from their families, outside of the country, to make sure we are as competitive as possible.”
Given the brown-envelope culture which earned Qatar this World Cup, it was little surprise that Sanchez was asked about internet conspiracies suggesting Ecuador’s players had been offered bribes to throw Sunday’s opening match.
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He replied: “There is a lot of dangerous misinform­ation on the internet but we have prepared for many years to prove we are strong and competitive.
“Nobody will destabilise us, we are not affected by it and we are excited and motivated for this historic day.”
The Al Bayt Stadium is ready to play host to the opening game of the World CupCredit: Getty More

JACK WILSHERE has made his peace with no longer being a player.Now coaching the Arsenal Under-18s, Wilshere has become fully immersed in the all-  consuming life of planning training sessions, analysing data, systems, man-management and picking the team.
Jack Wilshire is part of The Sun’s World Cup panelCredit: Louis Wood
He will be providing our readers with his analysis on England’s campaignCredit: Reuters
He was, of course, one of the most gifted midfielders of this generation — before injuries cruelly cut short his career.
So now Wilshere has become a Sun World Cup columnist, who will be giving readers the benefit of his knowledge from competing on the biggest stages for Arsenal and England and  learning the ropes as a fledgling coach at the Emirates.
Still only 30, a fully-fit Wilshere would probably have been in Qatar. But he’s not bitter, he’s philosophical about how life has turned out.
Yet Wilshere still looks back on his England career wondering what might have been, with a plea to the current squad to make this opportunity count.
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Wilshere said: “In 2018 when I was watching the World Cup on TV I was thinking, ‘I should have been there.’ It was difficult viewing.
“I was close to selection and fit when Gareth picked the squad — but I’d got an injury during one of the earlier camps, which would have been the chance to show him what I could do. I still feel I should have gone though. But I’ve accepted I’m finished with playing.
“I’ve got my head around it, I’m just concentrating on coaching and loving it.
“Earlier in the season we played Tottenham and I was sat thinking about the game and how we would play, then one of my coaches asked if I missed being out there playing and I actually realised that I didn’t.
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“I don’t get that feeling any more. That’s credit to the Under-18 team I’ve been working with, they’re top, they give everything — they make me think and challenge me.
“Arsenal are doing so well now and I’m there in the directors’ box with my boss Per Mertesacker.
 “We are talking about the game and what we need to do to get our Under-18 players to that level.
“My thought process is completely different to when I was a player.”
Wilshere recalls when he knew the game was up for him on the field.
He had gone to Denmark to try and resurrect his career after spells at Bournemouth and West Ham — but realised he was kidding himself that he could recover and get back to being the midfielder he once was.
Wilshere added: “If I’m honest my body completely gave up in Denmark, which was really frustrating. People were looking at me and I wanted to show them what I was about.

“I could still see the pictures in my head but my body wouldn’t allow me to get round the pitch to react to those images. It was mainly my ankle but I had a few problems with my knee as well. Strangely, since I stopped playing my ankle and knee are starting to feel good. Now it’s my back which is giving me problems!”
A World Cup brings back bitter-sweet memories for Wilshere.
He was chosen by Roy Hodgson for the 2014 tournament in Brazil — but England were out after two games having lost to Italy and Uruguay.
His experience tells him that it is vital England start well in their opener against Iran on Monday, otherwise the campaign can unravel very quickly and stress levels go through the roof.
He remembers how the pressure affected Hodgson and the captain Steven Gerrard, who quit the national team.
Wilshere said: “When I went off to the World Cup it was a dream come true.
“Then I was given the No 7 shirt which was David Beckham’s, who was my hero growing up, and it couldn’t have been better. But I didn’t start the first game, I just came on as we lost to Italy.
“Then I didn’t feature in the Uruguay defeat and, by the time I played in the third match against Costa Rica, we were already out. And we had prepared what I thought was so well for the Italy match.
“We even went for warm-weather training in Portugal, wore big coats and bin bags to acclimatise for the humidity in Manaus, we put a lot of importance on that game.
“But we were told to let Andrea Pirlo have the ball because, although he was a gifted player, his legs had gone. What a mistake that was. He was the best player on the pitch, we couldn’t get near him.
“You could feel pressure building up after Italy — and could see the stress in the manager’s eyes. It’s tough being in the camp when it’s going wrong.
Steven Gerrard’s mistake let Luis Suarez score and knockout England in 2014Credit: Getty Images – Getty
“Then we lost the game against Uruguay that we couldn’t really afford to lose and Stevie G gave a goal away when he headed it on to Luis Suarez for their winner.
“Like Beckham, Stevie G was an idol of mine, so to be in the same England World Cup squad as him was a big thrill — but I ended up feeling so sorry for him.
“He was our captain and leader of the group. He had been fantastic with me but, after that game, the energy just drained away from him.
“We were out and he’d given a goal away. He wasn’t really a loud type, he led by the examples he set.
“Me, Danny Welbeck and Luke Shaw had watched him as one of England’s best players as we grew up. We looked up to him.
“However, you could see in his demeanour that he was very low and it was tough to see your leader like that. He’d been through it before at World Cups and this was the end for him.
“So my overriding feeling was I felt sorry for him, I really did. But that’s what tournaments like this can do to you.
“All fans are focused on it, the pressures are huge — and starting well is so important to build momentum.
“Hopefully for our captain this time it will be a happy story.
“I don’t want to be writing about England disappointment, I want to be telling Sun readers how England won it.” More