{"id":154585,"date":"2022-12-11T10:43:13","date_gmt":"2022-12-11T10:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/how-england-kept-frances-star-forward-kylian-mbappe-quiet\/"},"modified":"2022-12-11T10:43:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T10:43:13","slug":"how-england-kept-frances-star-forward-kylian-mbappe-quiet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/how-england-kept-frances-star-forward-kylian-mbappe-quiet\/","title":{"rendered":"How England kept France’s star forward Kylian Mbappe quiet"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThere are a handful of players you need to consider for special attention,\u201d England assistant coach Steve Holland said before the quarter-final against France.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’d have to put (Kylian) Mbappe in that category. We need to look at trying to avoid leaving ourselves in situations where he is as devastating as we’ve seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a night when Mbappe recorded just one shot and one key pass, and failed to score or assist for the first time when starting a game at this World Cup, here is how England managed to keep him quiet\u2026<\/p>\n\n

The statistics tell a story<\/h2>\n

Compared to his other three starts at this World Cup, Mbappe had his fewest touches overall (40) and fewest in the opposition box (three). The only time he had fewer touches was in the 2018 final (39).<\/p>\n

His figure of 16 passes in the final third was his lowest in Qatar, as were his four attempted and two completed dribbles.<\/p>\n

For context, here was the tournament-wide attacking sequence involvement chart pre-match. Mbappe was averaging more than 10 per 90 minutes, albeit using a small sample\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 and he had less than half his usual impact in the game against England, only ranking joint-third among the French.<\/p>\n

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So, how did England manage it?<\/p>\n\n

Building with a back three \u2014 defensively <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Gareth Southgate’s decision to stick with a back four \u2014 rather than twist to a three\/five \u2014 and not change his starting XI from the Senegal win was viewed as a significant pre-match marker of England wanting to control the game.<\/p>\n

While on paper a four, England had used left-back Luke Shaw and right-back Kyle Walker asymmetrically against Senegal \u2014 Walker tucked round to make a functional back three with the center-backs John Stones and Harry Maguire, while Shaw was more advanced on the left.<\/p>\n

Senegal, like France, defended predominantly in a passive 4-4-2 mid-block.<\/p>\n

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Right from the first minute against France, we see almost a repeat of this.<\/p>\n

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A significant benefit of this tactic is that Walker can always see Mbappe \u2014 even if France win the ball, he knows where the 23-year-old is and is never too far from him, minimising his distance to recover to his goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone’s going to stop Mbappe, Kyle is the man to stop him,\u201d said Poland right-back Matty Cash after their defeat to France.<\/p>\n

Here’s a good example of why Walker is well-placed to defend Mbappe. Jordan Henderson’s pass (white arrow) is intercepted by Adrien Rabiot before it reaches Bukayo Saka\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 Walker has clear eyes on Mbappe\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 and as Rabiot drives forward, Walker can track Mbappe’s run wide \u2014 the detail in his body position is crucial here.<\/p>\n

The Manchester City full-back is facing Mbappe, meaning he can match his foot patterns and is ready to duel if Rabiot does pass out to the Paris Saint-Germain forward\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 what is quite telling is that, as Rabiot does pass to Mbappe (solid white arrow) \u2014 note the France midfielder had an angle for a shot on his dominant left foot (dotted red arrow) \u2014 Walker is positioned outside the vertical line of the ball, clearly more focused on preventing Mbappe’s involvement than throwing himself into block any potential shot.<\/p>\n

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Mbappe’s cross is hit deep and the right-winger Ousmane Dembele looks to block off the back post but is tracked well by Shaw, which shows the contrast in defensive responsibility to Walker.<\/p>\n

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A repeat of this can be seen later in the half.<\/p>\n

Jude Bellingham attempts to bounce John Stones’ pass (white arrow) into Walker (red arrow) but Mbappe intercepts\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 the forward is the most advanced player in a blue shirt and Walker can delay him one-versus-one, with Bellingham recovering to give England a numerical advantage to stop the attack.<\/p>\n

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When England lost the ball in the France half, Walker was in a prime position to pounce on Mbappe and prevent passes into him, such as on this France counter-attack.<\/p>\n

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Building with a back three \u2014 attacking<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Walker’s deep and narrow positioning was also looked on to exploit Mbappe’s weaknesses \u2014 he either doesn’t like defending, or is just not a great defender.<\/p>\n

Mbappe ‘defends’ alongside Oliver Giroud in France’s 4-4-2 mid-block, often \u201ccheating\u201d with a high position that leaves space ahead of left-back Theo Hernandez.<\/p>\n

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This left room for England to play over and to the right wing, where Saka was repeatedly found against the isolated Hernandez\u2026<\/p>\n

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And by playing these long passes, it put England in a position to counter-press when they did lose the ball and pin France in wide areas.<\/p>\n

England had six high turnovers in the quarter-final, with just one for France \u2014 and Didier Deschamps’ side had a \u201cpasses per defensive action\u201d (PPDA) figure that was almost three times as many as England. Simply put, France were passive.<\/p>\n

Below, Walker secures possession after Maguire’s diagonal is headed away and he’s able to find Henderson in space, with Mbappe close to the center circle.<\/p>\n

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Mbappe’s touch map shows how little activity he had in his defensive half \u2014 just seven touches all evening.<\/p>\n

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Here’s another example of exploiting that gap behind Mbappe\u2026<\/p>\n

Walker and Shaw’s positioning (yellow dots) highlights the approach, with the ‘right-back’ still close to Mbappe in England’s half when Southgate’s side have possession.<\/p>\n

Bellingham, who has rotated to a wide position, breaks the press with a ball into the left-winger Phil Foden, who has drifted inside.<\/p>\n

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\u2026 and the switch to Saka is on once again, with no defensive cover whatsoever from Mbappe\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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England combined neatly down the right but at times overplayed. They were able to keep possession there because France never outnumbered them.<\/p>\n

Almost 30 seconds after that switch, Mbappe is still on the edge of France’s defensive third.<\/p>\n

Central midfielders Antoine Griezmann, Aurelien Tchouameni and Rabiot have peeled wide to defend and support Hernandez.<\/p>\n

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As shown in the sequence above, the by-product of Mbappe’s lack of defensive intensity without the ball against quality attacking sides is how deep it pins Hernandez.<\/p>\n

And that becomes a bit of an issue for France because the left-back has been a key cog in France’s attacking play, particularly his repeated running beyond Mbappe, or feeding the forward with passes in dangerous positions.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example against Australia of Hernandez in a high attacking position, playing a pass into Mbappe\u2026<\/p>\n

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England’s pass network shows the attacking value of their combinations on the right, and one of those led to the first penalty when Saka was fouled by Tchouameni.<\/p>\n

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England followed Poland and Australia’s approach of channeling their attacks down the right, with France conceding 47 crosses from the right flank but just 32 from the left.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the best example was the moment when England did not get a penalty midway through the first half.<\/p>\n

There’s another diagonal towards Saka\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 who manages to keep the ball in play with his header but this pulls Hernandez wide without any cover from Mbappe\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 and within five seconds, England have pinned the left-back by the touchline. Walker is stalking Mbappe and Saka forces the turnover, before Kane drives towards the box and is caught by Upamecano. VAR checked the foul but a penalty was not awarded as it occurred outside the area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The pressing trap on Dayot Upamecano<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe lads in the middle, Henderson, Bellingham, Rice, Stones and Maguire, if they can stop that service into that central area it means Mbappe’s receiving far less dangerous passes,\u201d said former England defender Gary Neville.<\/p>\n

Stopping Mbappe involved in England doing multiple things. Particularly in the first half, England counter-pressed effectively and controlled possession well, so had to defend against the forward relatively little in open play.<\/p>\n

One thing they were clearly trying to do was limit how much France attacked down the left-hand side, where Mbappe prowls.<\/p>\n

Henderson’s tendency to press passes from the right centre-back Raphael Varane to partner Upamecano were particularly interesting. England did not want France to move the ball from right to left.<\/p>\n

They were relatively passive when France had the ball on the right (the opposite side to Mbappe)\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 but Henderson is on the move as soon as Varane shapes to play towards Upamecano and there is a hint that the ball may be going over to the left\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 forcing an immediate return pass. It may look relatively innocuous but the absence of play down France’s left is important.<\/p>\n

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Here’s another example of that desire to stop France from moving the ball left.<\/p>\n

Dembele plays a pass back to Upamecano as France look to switch the play to where Mbappe is positioned on the outside of Walker\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 but again this triggers Henderson\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 who is over-zealous and Upamecano skips past him. But there is Saka, who steps inside and fouls the advancing centre-back.<\/p>\n

Walker is facing Mbappe and turning his hips and feet in expectation of a foot race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Doubling up and managing the game<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Southgate’s side came into the game yet to receive a yellow card with a tenacious rotational fouling approach and it wasn’t until 37 minutes that they made a foul. By that time, France had made five.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest compliment of England’s defense is that when they did get forced into fouling Mbappe \u2014 and it was only twice \u2014 they were never cynical fouls.<\/p>\n

Henderson fouls Mbappe after making a significant recovery run, doubling up with fellow midfielder Declan Rice\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 which was a theme of their defensive approach when Mbappe did receive possession, particularly out wide.<\/p>\n

Mbappe often had Walker between him and the goal but also a central midfielder or winger applying pressure from the side to prevent him from dribbling inside onto his dominant right foot\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This continued throughout the game, even when Raheem Sterling replaced Saka, who looked slightly fatigued from helping Walker defend Mbappe.<\/p>\n

Mbappe did not have his usual level of impact but he was still involved in France’s opener.<\/p>\n

England tried to triple up with two central midfielders (Rice and Henderson) plus Walker\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 which is initially fine but what happens next shows the tactical repercussions of getting this wrong \u2014 space gets created elsewhere.<\/p>\n

So when Mbappe neatly finds Tchouameni, the pair can combine to get Mbappe into a central position in space\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 where he can find Dembele on the right. It is not often wide players combine like this.<\/p>\n

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Then Dembele moved the ball back to Griezmann, and he shifted it to Tchouameni in space. The Real Madrid midfielder had just enough time to set himself and then fire a shot into the bottom corner, beyond the dive of Jordan Pickford\u2026<\/p>\n

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That early involvement in France’s opening goal was about as dangerous as Mbappe got, which is relatively little by his standards \u2014 a build-up pass for a goal scored from outside the box.<\/p>\n

There was one other occasion in which Mbappe clearly beat Walker for pace.<\/p>\n

Henderson comes across to cover but Mbappe is finally able to get wide with Walker next to him \u2014 and with space to drive in a straight line\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 and despite initially putting contact on the forward, Walker lets him go and Mbappe gets into a cutback position but neither Giroud nor Dembele can get a shot away.<\/p>\n

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On this occasion, England are showing good defensive spacing and box superiority, so really should have won the first contact.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

For a game that was largely billed as Walker versus Mbappe, it shows how comprehensively England attacked and defended that the France forward’s name was almost absent from the post-match discussions.<\/p>\n

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He was not as decisive as he had been in this tournament, but the reigning champions still found a way to win.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n