"The ultimate test" - Norwich City Andrew Omobamidele defender makes Kylian Mbappe claim ahead of Ireland vs France | OneFootball

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Football League World

·21 March 2023

"The ultimate test" - Norwich City Andrew Omobamidele defender makes Kylian Mbappe claim ahead of Ireland vs France

Article image:"The ultimate test" - Norwich City Andrew Omobamidele defender makes Kylian Mbappe claim ahead of Ireland vs France

Norwich City centre-back Andrew Omobamidele is excited by the prospect of facing Kylian Mbappe as the Irishman prepares for a Euro 2024 qualifier against France.

Ireland take on France next Monday and the young central defender is looking forward to testing his pace against a player that gives the vast majority of defenders nightmares.


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Appearing 27 times in the league this season for the Norfolk club, Omobamidele has passed lots of tests at Championship level, however, regarded as one of the best players in the world, coming up against Mbappe will present itself as a completely different challenge.

Ireland have several impressive defensive talents but considered as one of the brightest prospects, he will be eager to add to the five caps he has already picked up with his national side.

Speaking to the Irish News about the possibility of facing Mbappe during this upcoming international break, Omobamidele said: "I’d be happy. I’d embrace it.

“After the game you are walking off knowing where you are as a player, because that is the ultimate test for any defender in the world, really.

“I think everyone agrees that he is a good player, he is quick, and I’d like to think I’m quick as well, so I’d love to do a foot race or something like that, see how quick I am!”

Backing his pace, the young central defender continued: “We do it off metres-per-second. I think the quickest I’ve run is 10.4m-per-second, which is quick. I don’t know what Mbappe’s is, but we’ll see.”

The verdict

No Championship striker wants to end up in a foot race with Omobamidele, however, as alluded to above, no second-tier forward possesses the pace that Mbappe has.

It would be an intriguing battle and one that the Irish defender would take a lot of confidence into should he play a part against last year's World Cup finalists.

The 20-year-old has been a consistent performer when fit for the Canaries this season, possessing excellent levels of maturity, athleticism and technical ability and is on an upwards trajectory as he continues his rapid development.

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