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The images pinned in the gymnasium where the French players sit down to talk summon up great days in the storied history of the footballing nation.

Aime Jacquet, clutching the trophy in 1998; Thierry Henry, winner that year and also a 2006 finalist; Michel Platini, legend of the great 1980s team.

Becoming the first nation to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1962 would be some addition to that gallery, though 72 hours out from the clash with old English foes, the questions the players fielded yesterday betrayed a distinct anxiety about the strength of Gareth Southgate's team.

L'Equipe began the week with a piece about English writers' obsession with Kylian Mbappe, who trained here on Thursday, and Kyle Walker's insistence that he would not 'roll out the red carpet' for the 23-year-old had certainly struck a chord.

'Hats off to him (Walker) if he can stop Kylian,' the midfielder Youssouf Fofana said when the Manchester City defender's remarks were quoted.

'There are 19 other teams in the French league who are waiting for an answer to that and the truth is on the pitch. Personally, as a Frenchman, we will believe in Kylian.'

Centre back Dayot Upamecano did not venture into a discussion on how he played in RB Leipzig's 5-0 defeat by Manchester United two years ago, on a night when Marcus Rashford — who will start on the bench for Southgate tomorrow — scored a hat-trick.

The French players fielded several questions on how the England bench is stronger than their own. 'That's up to people to give their opinion,' Upamecano said. 'It's not forbidden. It's up to us to show the opposite. Until the match has happened, there will always be something to say.'