Walker Names African Player As His Toughest Opponent Ahead Of England v France Clash

Prior to facing Kylian Mbappe in England vs. France’s World Cup quarterfinal, Kyle Walker has chosen his most challenging opponent to date.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar has faced the Manchester City defender before, but he wasn’t expected to stop the apparent threat a well-traveled striker poses when playing in the Champions League.

On Saturday, as Gareth Southgate prepares to select him as England’s right-back in a crucial match on Qatari soil, he will come into direct touch with Mbappe, and a new name might be added to the top of a noteworthy list.

When asked who currently sits atop that list, Walker responded, “For me…technically I didn’t play against Mbappe. Neymar was more prevalent one on one. Neymar is a superb player, in my opinion.

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“I think I’d suggest Sadio Mane, simply because he never lets you rest while handling the ball. I’m not saying the other people I named don’t, but they probably don’t defend as much as Mane does and they save their energy for attacking. Mane would therefore likely be my choice.”

Pressed further on how he intends to tackle the challenge of keeping Mbappe quiet, Walker added: “You have to use a little bit of nous. You can’t be a speed boat with no driver. You need to obviously use your brain when needed. And I can’t get as tight to him as I probably would do on some other players. That’s just the nature of the game. I remember playing against Theo Walcott once and I’ve tried to get so close to him and all of a sudden he just spins in behind you and you think well that’s your lesson taught.”

Walker, 32, a four-time Premier League champion with 72 international appearances, will try to capitalize on his wealth of experience while playing France.