Gareth Southgate will be looking to guide his England team to victory on Saturday when the Three Lions take on France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. However, there's one man that could stop that from happening; the World Cup's current top scorer and arguably one of the best players in the world, Kylian Mbappe.
Much anticipation on how England will break down the attacking force of the French, with frontmen Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele having equally impressive tournament campaigns. But, and perhaps rightly so, almost all of the pre-match focus has sat on Mbappe, and which of Southgate's right-backs could handle the explosive youngster.
Kyle Walker has been pipped to take the starting position and has faced multiple questions from the press regarding his potential upcoming opponent.
Calmly, Walker reminded the media that he has come up against Mbappe before, and has proven that he is faster than the Frenchman; a part of Mbappe's game that terrifies teams. Despite this, whoever starts in the right-back position will need more than just speed to reduce the threat of the Paris St-Germain forward.
So, how will Gareth Southgate minimise the dominance of Mbappe?
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Choosing the 'right'-back
Since becoming the England manager in 2016, Southgate has been fortunate with his right-back options.
In recent times, the competition for an England call-up for a right-back has been so challenging that players have swapped allegiance to have the opportunity to play international football.
For example, Brighton's star man and West London-born Tariq Lamptey made his World Cup debut during this competition, but for Ghana; the country of his heritage.
The same is said for Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash, who also made his World Cup debut this year representing Poland after being eligible through his maternal grandmother.
A big miss in the England right-back position is Chelsea star Reece James. Unfortunately for James, a favourite of Southgate's, a serious injury kept him out of the squad. However, Southgate's current options are Manchester City's Kyle Walker, Newcastle United's Kieran Trippier, and Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The latter of the three has only briefly appeared in Qatar; his only appearance coming as a substitute in the 57th minute against Wales.
Many call for Southgate to give Alexander-Arnold a bigger role in the team, after being an influential figure in a dominant Liverpool team in recent years.
However, this starting chance will almost certainly not be given on Saturday, and the Liverpudlian is sure to be named as a substitute.
Although the Three Lions first starting right-back of the competition, game-time for Kieran Trippier has considerably dropped off.
After an underwhelming performance against the USA, Trippier was benched for games against Wales and Senegal. The Bury-born defender has had a storming club campaign with Newcastle, with performances and statistics warranting his place among the squad.
However, with a game of this stature on the horizon, Southgate is likely to look to Kyle Walker to line up opposite Mbappe.
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Focusing on the WHOLE French team
Gareth Southgate has not been shy to talk about the amount of preparation he and his team have done for this game. "Four years" worth, to be specific, first initiated after France lifted the World Cup trophy in Russia in 2018.
Hours of footage have undoubtedly been shown to the England team displaying the dominance of the 23-year-old Parisian. But, Southgate has insisted to the media that England has prepared a game plan to play France, not just Mbappe.
The England manager spoke to ITV, saying:
"Well similar to the fact there will be a pretty good plan for Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and [Ousmane] Dembele.
"They've got a lot of very good players and we would always prepare any team we play against for certain individuals. The detail of marking them or dealing with them is important."
Giroud has had an exceptional tournament for his country; overtaking Thierry Henry to become France's all-time leading goalscorer.
Players in the England camp will be well aware of the threat Giroud can bring, after making 255 Premier League appearances, representing Chelsea and Arsenal. Mason Mount, who won the Champions League with the Frenchman, knows this more than anyone.
England has some of world football's best young players, and although perhaps not quite to the levels of Mbappe, Southgate believes his side have 'credibility' after their performances in recent years.
The Three Lions has scored the most goals this tournament, netting 12 times in just four games. Defensively, England has only conceded two goals, compared to France's four. France are also yet to keep a clean sheet so far in the tournament; despite playing Denmark, Tunisia, Australia and Poland.