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2022 FIFA World Cup

Kylian Mbappe Misses Training Ahead Of England Clash – See Reason

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Kylian Mbappe Misses Training Ahead Of England Clash

Kylian Mbappe was absent from training on Tuesday just four days away from France’s World Cup quarter-final clash against England.

Infoexpert24 reports that Mbappehas been in sensational form in Qatar, taking his tally to five goals in four games with a superb brace against Poland.

According to L’Equipe, the Paris Saint-Germain star was not present at training at the Jassim-bin-Hamad stadium where the rest of the team trained on Tuesday afternoon.

tHE Reports claim Mbappe spent the day working in France ‘recovery room’, working on a different schedule from his teammates.

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England take on France for a place in the semi-final of the competition this Saturday.

READ ALSO: Watch Crowd Reaction When Cristiano Ronaldo Was Subbed On v Switzerland

Mbappe was carrying a slight injury issue earlier in the competition. The forward was pictured wearing strapping around his ankle ahead of the final group match against Tunisia, starting on the bench for that game with France’s place in the last 16 already secured.

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The ankle issue is said to have been picked up while Mbappe was playing for PSG but he has shown no signs that it has affected him in Qatar with a string of superb performances for Les Blues.

The report adds that Deschamps held a lengthy conversation with the medical team prior to their open training session and decided that it would be best for Mbappe to work alone indoors.

It remains unknown as to whether the PSG attacker has sustained an injury, but separate reports in the French media have since denied such concerns and have suggested that his indoor sessions away from the main group were already planned.

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Mbappe is arguably the one France player who England will have to keep an eye on if they wish to prevail on Saturday, but Three Lions left-back Luke Shaw believes the two-time world champions are not a one-man team.

Speaking to reporters, as quoted by the Daily Express, Shaw said: “Obviously after [Mbappe’s] performance (against Poland) there’s going to be even more chat about him but we know he’s a world-class player.

“I think it would be very naive of us to focus purely on him. They’re reigning world champions for a reason and we need to focus on them as a whole team.

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“They have brilliant players over the whole pitch so we’re not going to fully focus on him, but it’s an amazing tie to be involved in and that’s why we’re here.”

England manager Gareth Southgate deployed a four-man defence in all three group-stage matches, but there have been suggestions that he could switch to a back five to counteract the attacking threat France are likely to pose.

“We’ve always got to get the balance of the team right,” Southgate told reporters. “We’re wanting to be positive, we feel we’ve done that so far in this tournament.

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“I think we’ve got energy in the team, we’ve got legs in the team, we’ve got depth in the squad. So I don’t think we should be drifting too far from what we’ve been.

“You’ve obviously got to make allowances for the opposition and find out where you can exploit them but we’ve got good players to come in as well.”

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker is set to be tasked with stopping Mbappe should the France star retain his place on the left flank on Saturday.

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Kylian Mbappe will pose the biggest threat when England take on the defending champions this weekend with former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud also in formidable form, having overtaken Thierry Henry’s all-time goal scoring record with his goal in the 3-1 win over Poland.

Giroud will lead the line for Didier Deschamps side with Mbappe in support, with the veteran describing the PSG star as one of the best forward’s he has ever played alongside.

‘Kylian is basically one of the best players I’ve played with,’ Giroud said in a press conference. ‘He is amazing and is still young which is scary as he can still improve.

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‘He is very efficient and, from the beginning of the competition, he’s been crucial for us – very decisive, very competitive. He’s obviously the best striker I’ve played with in all of the teams I’ve played in.

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