sport news MARTIN SAMUEL: Gareth the gambler will lose without a grand plan to stop Kylian ... trends now
The England manager considered the life of the mind. ‘The job,’ explained Gareth Southgate, ‘is not just to have a philosophy, the job is to win matches.
‘So you can have a philosophy, but if you’re going home at the start of the tournament, that philosophy doesn’t wash. With the national team you’ve got to keep winning.’
Think of it another way. In 2007, Reading made two visits to Old Trafford, one in the FA Cup, the other in the league, and got a draw both times. In the league match, they played the last 17 minutes down to 10 men, and drew 0-0 against a team that included peak Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
Gareth Southgate will have to have a plan to stop star man Kylian Mbappe against France
Steve Coppell, the manager, had to get away quickly, leaving press duties to assistant Wally Downes.
Coppell has a dry wit. Downes, who Southgate knows well from their time at Crystal Palace, is less likely to take prisoners.
‘You seemed to have a specific plan from the start?’ said the first questioner, admiringly. ‘Yes,’ deadpanned Downes. ‘Try coming here without one.’
And that’s the crux of it really. What were Reading to do at Old Trafford? You have a go, then we’ll have a go? It is the same with England, France and Kylian Mbappe.
There are some players who have to be accounted for and, right now, Mbappe is one. It doesn’t mean betraying the strengths or beliefs of your team, or at least it shouldn’t.
Kylian Mbappe has been the star of World Cup 2022 and has already scored five goals
It doesn’t mean forgetting England are capable of hurting France, too, as they are. Yet France possess a generational talent, arguably the greatest player at this World Cup, and that includes Lionel Messi. It would be arrogant, not to mention negligent, to refuse to acknowledge this fact. England do not want to get into a chuckle-headed exchange of blows.
Last month, a new sport emerged in Las Vegas. The Power Slap League does pretty much what it says on the tin. The two competitors face each other and take turns slapping their opponent on the face with an open hand. There is no defence, only offence, and many are doubting the Nevada state athletic commission’s sanity for allowing such overt violence.
The argument is there will now be mouthguards, ear plugs and rules governing what part of the face can be struck; against this, there have been instances of concussion and slappers slumping into unconsciousness. ‘It’s what you’d get if you let 13-year-old boys invent a sport,’ wrote one observer. ‘You might as well kick each other in the nuts,’ argued USA Today.
Yet there will be those making a case for England to go power-slapping, or even nut-kicking, against Mbappe. Slap, Bukayo Saka has a go. Kick, here comes Mbappe. There is only one winner in that strategy. Mbappe would walk into this England team; Mbappe would walk into any team at this World Cup. So strategy is essential.
Kyle Walker has been earmarked as the man who can keep up with the speed of Kylian Mbappe
Nobody tries to out-pass a team coached by Pep Guardiola. That doesn’t mean they cannot be beaten. It just means the opposition have to find another way.
It is an irony, too, that with Southgate accused of negativity for so long, now it seems likely he will take a gamble, he may end up accused of being too cavalier if England lose playing a conventional back four, with no extra provision for the player on France’s left. Those urging England to get on the front foot will swiftly vanish without sharing responsibility if they do, and it fails.
Equally, if Southgate addresses the threat of Mbappe without success, it will be imagined a more daring England would have swept Didier Deschamps’s team off the park. He only wins if he wins.
Just as when Marcus Rashford was omitted against Senegal, Southgate’s critics presupposed disaster, so
