ENGLAND have impressed along their journey to a place in the quarter-finals at the 2022 World Cup. They remain unbeaten, with a 0-0 group-stage draw with the USA the only minor blemish on their record in Qatar, and they are the joint-highest scorers in the tournament.

But England’s status among the contenders will face the most robust test possible when Gareth Southgate’s side take on reigning world champions France – and tournament top scorer Kylian Mbappe – on Saturday.

Stopping the Unstoppable

“The game isn’t England v Mbappe; it’s England versus France,” England full-back Kyle Walker insisted when asked about the rapid Paris Saint-Germain forward in the days leading up to the game.

“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.”

Southgate and assistant manager Steve Holland have reportedly been preparing for the eventuality of meeting – and stopping – Mbappe at a major tournament finals for more than two years, concocting what has been termed an “anti-Mbappe” plan.

What, exactly, that plot entails will only be revealed when the players take to the field at Al Bayt Stadium. But in terms of personnel, England are well equipped to at least present a credible challenge to the man currently leading the race for the Golden Boot.

Firstly, there is Walker himself. The Manchester City man might be the oldest player in the England squad, but he is likely still the quickest. The 32-year-old has the pace to confront the fearsome threat of being isolated in space with Mbappe, plus the pedigree and experience of having held his own against many of the world’s best attackers over the last decade.

One option Southgate and Holland are surely considering as a way of combating Mbappe is to switch to a back three. England have played exclusively with a back four thus far at Qatar, but they have regularly operated with a back three – either in a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 shape – throughout Southgate’s tenure.

Switching to a back three now would come with a degree of risk. It would mean either sacrificing a body in midfield or removing a member of the joint-best attack so far in Qatar. The notoriously studious-to-the-point-of-cautious England manager will be reticent to so drastically diverge from what has been a winning approach.

But utilising a back three would allow Walker to be deployed as the right-sided centre-back, a role in which he has thrived previously for England, while providing the veteran defender with additional support from a wing-back, likely Kieran Trippier. Such a move would station Walker directly in the half-space areas in which Mbappe has been so devastating.

Don’t Discount Dembele

It would be a mistake, as Walker suggests, for England to be too pre-occupied with the threat Mbappe poses. Yes, he is Didier Deschamps’ most potent weapon and arguably the best player in the world at present. But he is not the only French attacker capable of producing jaw-dropping, game-winning moments of magic.

Ousmane Dembele was considered a talent of comparable measure with Mbappe when the pair were taking their first steps in French football as teenagers, Dembele with Rennes and Mbappe with Monaco.

Dembele’s career stalled somewhat following his €105m move from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona in 2017. Injuries hampered his progress and, in truth, it was too big a move too soon in his career, to be tasked with replacing Neymar at the Camp Nou while still just 20 years old.

But Dembele has begun to deliver on his latent potential in recent months, starring for Barcelona and France. He was part of Deschamps’ triumphant squad in Russia four and a half years ago, but he was only a fringe contributor then, outshone by Mbappe.

At this World Cup, Dembele shares billing with his co-conspirator on the opposite flank. With his pace and creativity, he ensures France have a dangerous and balanced attack, even with Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema’s injury absence.

St. Jude

For all the talent among the French ranks, there are several England players who will be giving Deschamps and his staff equal concern. Front and centre of those is Jude Bellingham.

The 19-year-old Dortmund midfielder is England’s youngest player. He has also now firmly established himself as their best and most important.

The former Birmingham City star has taken his outstanding club form with him to Qatar. In the Bundesliga and Champions League over the first half of the paused 2022-23 campaign, Bellingham – already a remarkably well-rounded and mature player for his age – had showed a new wrinkle to his game, adding goals. Nine in 22 games, to be precise.

In England’s group-opening 6-2 win over Qatar, he headed his first international goal, and he has been the Three Lions’ driving force in every game they’ve played.

The 3-0 thrashing of Senegal in the last 16 was his best performance yet. His creativity came to the fore as he provided an assist for Jordan Henderson to score, before slicing through the opposing midfield and conjuring the move that eventually led to Harry Kane notching his first strike of the tournament.

Pre-tournament injuries to Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante mean France are somewhat weakened in central midfield. Adrien Rabiot of Juventus and Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni certainly don’t lack for quality, but there is a developing sense that England’s fortunes at this World Cup are bound directly to Bellingham’s ability to impose his will on each game. He will be confident of doing so once again.

Decisive Depth

England greatest strength – aside from their prodigious 19-year-old central midfielder – has been their impressive depth.

The likes of Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish have all come off the bench at various times and made quick and decisive contributions. Leaning on his back-up options could be Southgate’s biggest advantage against France.

The full-back positions are where Les Bleus are weakest. Left-back Theo Hernandez – filling in for his brother, Lucas, who was injured in the group stage – is gifted in attack but less so defensively. And Barcelona’s Jules Kounde has been playing at right-back, but he is a central defender by trade and a slightly uncomfortable fit.

The prospect of bringing on Rashford or Grealish, or even James Maddison for a first World Cup appearance, to run and weave at tired legs, especially in those wide areas, offers the potential to blow open a tight encounter – provided Mbappe and co can been contained long enough.

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