Jamie Carragher: Only Walker, Bellingham and Kane make France's XI

Only Kyle Walker, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane would make France’s starting XI, claims Jamie Carragher but the former England defender insists the Three Lions have the better SQUAD and the game can be won from the bench

  • Jamie Carragher believes if England win it will be the greatest result since 1966
  • He thinks only Walker, Bellingham and Kane would make France’s starting XI
  • Carragher believes Walker is the best defender in the world to deal with Mbappe
  • Tale of the tape – how Walker and Mbappe match up ahead of the huge game 
  • Former England man has urged Southgate to use his ammunition on the bench 
  • Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results

Jamie Carragher believes only Kyle Walker, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane would make France’s starting XI but insists that the Three Lions have the better squad and can therefore win the game from the bench.

The former England defender says that if the Three Lions can overcome the threat of the world champions, it will be the nation’s greatest ever result since the 1966 World Cup triumph.

A truthful Carragher stated that away from home ‘England simply do not win quarter-finals against nations of France’s strength’.

Jamie Carragher believes only Kyle Walker, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane would make France’s starting XI

Three Lions wonderkid Jude Bellingham is one of three England players who would make France’s XI, according to Carragher

Writing for The Telegraph, Carragher raised concerns about how Gareth Southgate’s men will deal with France’s superstar Kylian Mbappe. 

The Frenchman has dominated the build-up to the game but Three Lions fans were boosted by Kyle Walker’s press conference where he boldly stated: ‘I won’t roll out a red carpet for him’. 

Walker is just one of three England men that Carragher believes would get in to Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus side. Here’s how the Man City defender measures up against the striker. 

‘If you could pick any right back in the world to face Mbappe it would be Walker due to his raw pace,’ Carragher said. 

The former Liverpool centre-back believes that Southgate will have been toying with the idea of switching to a back five, but should resist doing so.

Carragher thinks Walker is the best defender in the world to deal with Kylian Mbappe due to his pace

‘It is unnecessary,’ he added. Whether Walker is right centre-back or right-back, his duel with Mbappe is still going to be based on their sprint races. England will lose too much up the park if they sacrifice an attacker for a defender.’

Despite only Bellingham and captain Kane slotting into France’s side, according to Carragher, the former defender believes there is one critical advantage Southgate can exploit. 

‘If France have a superior starting XI, England have a better 16-man squad if both sides use their full allocation of substitutes,’ he added.

‘This match can be won from the bench, where Southgate’s options are as good as any coach left in the tournament. This is where he must be at his bravest.’

Carragher is urging Southgate to be ‘proactive’ rather than ‘reactive’ especially when trying to combat France’s frightening pace.

Carragher also believes captain Kane would make Didier Deschamps’ starting XI

The former footballer turned pundit says that England’s only misstep so far in Qatar was against the USA when the ‘advantage of strength in depth was not utilised’.

Carragher believes Southgate cannot afford to be hesitant and should use the fact that he has more ammunition from the bench at his disposal.

He referenced England’s major tournament clashes with Croatia and Italy as a lesson to ‘not look back with regrets’. 

The Three Lions took early leads against Croatia in Russia 2018 and more recently in the Euros 2020 final against Italy.

Both times, they were sent crashing out of the tournaments, with many critical of Southgate’s defensive response to taking a lead. 








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