Now the battle really begins

England vs France

Stopping or, more realistically, limiting the damage Kylian Mbappe inflicts is key to England's chances of reaching a third consecutive tournament semifinal. Mbappe looks to be on a mission in Qatar, topping the Golden Boot standings with five goals and generally lighting up the tournament with his turbo-charged attacks. Pacy England rightback Kyle Walker is being billed by the English press as the man to put the brakes on Mbappe, and the Manchester City defender has bullishly — and probably foolishly — called out the superstar in the prematch buildup. "I am not going to roll out a red carpet for him and tell him to go and score," said Walker. "I'm representing my country at the quarterfinal in a World Cup, it's do or die really. If we lose, we go home. He's not going to stand in my way of winning a World Cup for my country." Rather than relying on Walker's intervention, England will hope to deprive Mbappe of service from midfield, where the Three Lions match up very favorably against Les Bleus. Without the injured Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante — two stalwarts of the 2018 World Cup triumph in Russia — Aurelien Tchouameni has been France's most solid midfield performer so far, and the Real Madrid star is now set for an intriguing battle with Jude Bellingham. The 19-year-old Bellingham is possibly the most gifted player to pull on an England shirt since Paul Gascoigne. And, judging by his post-match interviews, the Borussia Dortmund prospect appears better equipped mentally to handle the pressures of stardom than the troubled Gazza. Bellingham completely ran proceedings against Iran and Senegal, and if he can manage a repeat performance against France, then the likes of Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford might just have enough guile up front to dethrone the defending champion.

jamesboylan@chinadaily.com.cn