Wenger on Mbappé: 'He decides when he'll make the difference' | OneFootball

Legendary Monaco and Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger, now FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, has heaped praise on Kylian Mbappé and France ahead of Les Bleus' crunch World Cup quarter-final clash with England on Saturday.

Thanks to his gig with FIFA, Wenger has been attending an insane number of matches in Qatar, but he managed to find the time to speak with French sports daily l'Equipe about the mouth-watering quarter-final clash between France and England that could well test the former Monaco and Arsenal coach's loyalties. Balance

The two side are generally held to be fairly evenly matched, but Wenger feels that Les Bleus have had a particularly good start to the tournament. "France have real strengths on the flanks, especially the relationship between Théo Hernandez and Kylian Mbappé," said the former Monaco coach. "A team that wants to win the World Cup must learn to find its balance faster than others and France have done it very well in this World Cup; Jules Koundé compensates for Hernandez's runs by adopting a more conservative profile, a bit like Blaise Matuidi did in 2018 when Mbappé was playing on the right."

'It's an early final!'

So is Wenger picking Les Bleus?

"I've been saying for the last six months that France can retain the title, despite the fact that they've lost Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kanté and so on, and that they had a disappointment at the Euro last year, which made them question themselves," Wenger explained. "It's a young squad, who are hungry and who don't look to be at the end of a cycle, unlike the Belgians for example. You could feel that they were over it, that they didn't really believe in it anymore. I would add that France have capacities, in terms of physical power, that are clearly superior to those of the other teams, with the possible exception of England. In this area, the English midfielders, and in particular Jude Bellingham, can be very effective. That's why England are perhaps the team with the best chance of hurting France in this competition. It's an early final!"

Déjà vu?

Evidently there was a burning question to ask the long-time Arsenal boss, who coached France legend Thierry Henry in London: does he see something similar in Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappé? "Yes, there are many similarities," smiled the Frenchman. "Thierry also played on the left in his early days, he also liked to open his foot in front of goal. But I notice that Kylian, as he did in his first goal against Poland, adapts to the fact that the goalkeepers anticipate his trademark shot towards the far post - and fired it near-post instead. As with all great players, you get the impression that it's easy for him to play football, and that he decides when he'll make the difference." >> England-France preview: Mbappé fit in time? >> Stéphan: Mbappé 'hungry for records'