December 09, (THEWILL) – Didier Deschamps has spoken against claims that the French national team is unduly dependant on Kylian Mbappe, who has been in outstanding form during the World Cup in Qatar and leads the scoring charts with five goals in four games.
The two goals he notched against Poland in the World Cup round of 16 means the 23-year-old has nine goals overall, matching Lionel Messi and inching ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the two greatest footballers of this generation.
With a spot in the semifinals on the line, world champions France will be hoping that he steps up again against England at Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday. In the 13 games Mbappe has started in major competitions, France has remained unbeaten – aside from penalty shootouts.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward has already scored 250 goals for club and country, but Deschamps rejected the notion that France relies too heavily on him, saying: “I’m sure England will have prepared to face Kylian as our previous opponents did, but he’s in a position to make the difference.
“Even in the last match, he didn’t show his top form, but he was still decisive. We have other players that can be dangerous as well, so that helps us not be over-dependent on Kylian. But Kylian is Kylian, and he has that capacity to make the difference in any moment.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
