Harry Maguire has been identified as England’s danger man by French newspaper L’Equipe ahead of the World Cup clash against France

French newspaper L’Equipe has named Harry Maguire England’s dangerous man ahead of Saturday’s thrilling World Cup quarter-finals.

Gareth Southgate’s side are battling the reigning world champions for a place in the last four in Qatar.

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Kylian Mbappe has been widely discussed as France’s key player on the road to the tie after scoring five goals in four games in Qatar.

He has netted nine times in just 11 appearances in his two World Cups and is one of the tournament’s scariest stars.

For England, many people like Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka or Jude Bellingham would say the team’s biggest threat.

But L’Equipe have identified centre-back Maguire as the only member of the Three Lions squad to watch out for this weekend.

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The Manchester United defender’s set piece skills scare many sides.

He should have been awarded a penalty after being tripped in the box during a corner in Iran’s win.

And minutes later he was inches from scoring from another corner, slamming a header off the bar.

Only Kane, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford have scored more goals for England since Southgate took over – with the United man finding the net seven times in 52 caps for his country.

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France conceded from a corner against Denmark in the group stage.

And the French press are wary of Maguire as they try to keep their hopes of defending the World Cup alive.

They are particularly concerned about England’s shielding of Maguire at corners (by putting a man in front of him to prevent defenders from getting close).

L’Equipe said: “One of the great English strengths is the screen: as in basketball, a team-mate positions himself in the trajectory of Maguire’s mark and blocks it or forces it to go around, which will free the Manchester defender United.”

They then added: “The Englishman exudes a lot of upper body strength and uses his arms to gain the upper hand.”

Meanwhile, the focus is mostly on the blockbuster clash between Mbappe and England right-back Kyle Walker.

But the Manchester City man is not intimidated by the Paris Saint-Germain striker.

Talking about the match with Mbappe, Walker said: “The game is not England vs. Mbappe, it is England vs. France.

“We’ll show respect but I’m not going to roll out the red carpet for him to score. It’s all or nothing, like if we lose we go home.”

“I understand what I have to do and that is stop him. It’s probably easier said than done, but I don’t underestimate myself.

“I’ve encountered great players before, so I’m just treating it like another game.

“I will give him the respect he deserves but not too much because this is England. No single player makes a team. This is not tennis, it is not an individual sport.”

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