‘Mbappé burned my legs’: Matty Cash on opposing France’s danger man

05-Dec-2022 11:00:40 | Guardian

Poland full-back shares his first-hand World Cup experiences and believes England’s Kyle Walker can stop him

How do you stop a force such as Kylian Mbappé? It is the question that will have been whirring around the mind of Gareth Southgate since England teed up a quarter-final date with France and will no doubt consume Kyle Walker, who is likely to have the thankless task of trying to contain the forward on Saturday. Mbappé’s touch maps and goals tally at this tournament suggest Walker is going to be in for a busy evening.

It is a conundrum Matty Cash no longer has to concern himself with but one he spent a good while thinking about before Poland’s last-16 defeat by France on Sunday. “I spent the afternoon watching his clips and I knew it was going to be a tough test, but when he gets the ball, stops and moves, he’s the quickest thing I’ve ever seen,” the Aston Villa defender, says. “I said to him at the end: ‘Can I have your shirt?’ and he gave me his match-worn shirt so I’m delighted with that.”