Chris Sutton highlights main weakness in France XI ahead of England clash at FIFA World Cup
Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton has highlighted the defensive weaknesses of France's team ahead of their FIFA World Cup quarter-final clash against England on December 10.
Les Bleus have looked very strong throughout the tournament. This is apart from a 1-0 loss against Tunisia where manager Didier Deschamps' played a heavily rotated squad. They dispatched Poland by a 3-1 scoreline in Round of 16.
England have been equally impressive and are yet to lose in Qatar. After amassing seven points in a group that contained IR Iran, Wales, and the USA, they beat Senegal 3-0 in the last 16.
The win against the AFCON champions set up a delicious quarter-final tie between the two giants of international football. France have been billed as heavy favorites to defend their FIFA World Cup crown.
However, Sutton thinks the Three Lions could exploit certain weaknesses in the two-time FIFA World Cup winners' team. For the Daily Mail, he wrote:
Players with the most MOTM awards at the World Cup:
• Lionel Messi - 3
• Kylian Mbappé - 3 https://t.co/GYEPM3mQxy
"France haven't kept a clean sheet at this World Cup and though they're a team packed with talented players, I'm still not convinced by Hugo Lloris in goal."
He added:
"Another concern is, out of possession, Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele aren't the hardest workers when it comes to tracking back."
Hugo Lloris was in goal for France in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, where he made a notable mistake to gift Croatia their second goal of the match. They won 4-2 on the day but the French goalkeeper's mistake typified his playing style.
He is a solid shot-stopper and immaculate as a sweeper-keeper, but he seems to have an error in him. The Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper is also arguably unconvincing with the ball at his feet.
Kylian Mbappe labeled France's best player at FIFA World Cup ahead of England tie
Sutton may have pointed out Kylian Mbappe's lack of meaningful contributions off the ball while defending, but he has also labeled him as Les Bleus' key threat.
I want England to beat France on Saturday with every sinew of my being, but I'm getting an increasingly bad feeling that this guy's going to send us home. https://t.co/n33UWgsPBN
He wrote, via the aforementioned source:
"Kylian Mbappe. Who else? It isn't as simple as stopping Mbappe means you stop France. I wouldn't be so disrespectful to their other threats."
He added:
"But Mbappe is like the older kid on the playground, toying with his opponents. This may be Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's final World Cups. The stage is set for Mbappe to take over.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) centre-forward is the leading goal-scorer at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar with five goals to his name.