France’s Youssouf Fofana says that Kylian Mbappé won his battle against Kyle Walker | OneFootball

Passing through the mixed zone shortly after France’s 2-1 World Cup quarter-final victory against England, AS Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana (23) said that Kylian Mbappé (23) won his battle against Kyle Walker (32).

In the build-up to the tie, which was miraculously the first time that the two nations had met in the knockout stages of a major tournament, much was made of the Mbappé-Walker match-up. England’s plan to silence the Paris Saint-Germain forward, who is the top-scorer at this World Cup in Qatar, was widely reported and scrutinised in the days leading up to the game.

However, very few of France’s attacks came down Mbappé’s flank. Most of the attacks came through close interchanges between Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann down the right. Ultimately, the battle didn’t live up to media expectations, and the pair only had one footrace, which was narrowly won by Mbappé, who couldn’t find a blue shirt with his cut-back into the box.

Fofana, however, in a fleeting interaction with journalists, reported by L’Équipe’s Loïc Tanzi,  believed that his teammate won the battle. “So, this battle?” said Fofana. When asked by journalists which battle he was referring to, the Monaco midfielder replied, “The one that we were speaking about before the match. We have to acknowledge that he won it, don’t we?”