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Kyle Walker snubbed his upcoming FIFA World Cup opponent Kylian Mbappe and named former Liverpool winger Sadio Mane as the toughest opponent he has ever faced.
England are set to take on France in an enthralling quarter-final on December 10. Mbappe has been in spectacular form for Les Bleus so far, scoring five goals.
Walker will have the difficult task of handling the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) attacker's speed and explosive style of play during the last eight clash.
During his career, Walker has faced world-class wingers while playing for Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and England.
He also faced Mbappe when Manchester City defeated PSG over two legs in the UEFA Champions League in 2021. However, Walker refused to name the pacy winger as his toughest-ever opponent.
While reflecting on their previous meeting, Walker said he had not faced the Frenchman one-on-one. Rather, his direct opponent was Neymar. The Englishman has nothing but praise for the Brazilian as he said in a press conference (via SportBIBLE):
“For me, technically, I didn’t play against Mbappe one v one, it was more Neymar, I think Neymar’s a fantastic player.”
The right-back, however, named Mane as the player who gave him the most problems. Walker added:
"I would probably say Sadio Mane just because he never gives you a moment’s rest on the ball. I'm not saying the other guys (Neymar and Mbappe) I mentioned don't, but they probably don't defend as much or save their energy for when they're attacking. For me, it's probably Mane."
Mane and Kyle Walker were direct rivals in the Premier League for Liverpool and Manchester City. The Senegalese, however, moved to Bayern Munich at the start of the 2022-23 season.
Mane and Walker could have faced off when England took on Senegal in the Round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, due to an unfortunate injury, the former Liverpool attacker missed the tournament.
Kyle Walker gives Kylian Mbappe reminder ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup clash
Keeping the PSG superstar at bay will be a big part of England's job in the FIFA World Cup quarter-final clash. However, Kyle Walker believes France have many other dangerous attackers in their ranks.
The Manchester City full-back said:
“I know he’s a top player but we’re not playing tennis. It’s not a solo sport, it’s a team game, We know he’s a great player and that’s why he’s the focus of all questions. But let’s not forget (Olivier) Giroud, who has scored countless (goals), (Ousmane) Dembele, for me just as good on the other wing.”
