England should not obsess over Kylian Mbappe and reckon France as a squad, warned Adrien Rabiot. He has also said that France is aware of the set-piece threat that England poses, and they’re looking to contain it.
With both teams playing at the top of their level it is hard to predict who will come out on top. Mbappe is currently leading the goalscoring chart by racking up 5 goals, Giroud a close second with 3. England forwards Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford are also having a great tournament, each with 3 goals to their name.
Even so, The French midfielder Adrien Rabiot does not like to think of them as a one-man team.
“We are not dependent on him. He has amazing potential and we know that 90% of the goals can maybe come from him. He is very fast, able to make great assists but we also have other players who can make a difference on the pitch in another way. We have a great weapon in Kylian and we’re not going to deprive ourselves of that.”
France defender Ibrahima Konate also stated:
“Football isn’t played by one or two players, it is played by the whole team.”
Since becoming the manager, Southgate identified set-pieces as a pivotal instrument in scoring goals. In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, 9 out of 12 goals of the English squad came from set-pieces.
Knowing this Rabiot was quick to refer to the Denmark match where Andreas Christensen equalized from a corner kick before Mbappe secured France’s win by sealing in a second goal.
Kyle Walker supposedly will be tasked with stopping Mbappe. The PSG forward is in top form and in pole position to take the Golden Boot.