Ally McCoist has named his combined England and France attack ahead of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final clash.
Picking a front three from the countries’ talented forwards certainly isn’t easy. But it turns out the talkSPORT co-host has a lot of admiration for one French player in particular… and it’s not superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Gareth Southgate’s decision to start Bukayo Saka against Senegal over England’s then-top scorer Marcus Rashford – who’s scored three goals in Qatar – raised eyebrows.
But the Arsenal star ended up netting his country’s third goal in their 3-0 win to go level with Rashford’s tally, with fellow winger Phil Foden setting up goals for him, and striker Harry Kane.
However whilst McCoist loves England’s midfield of Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Jordan Henderson, he hasn’t included all of the Three Lions’ attacking stars.
“I think England are better and by a good distance in the middle of the park,” he told talkSPORT Breakfast.
“I thought Bellingham was absolutely outstanding.
“Up front, I’m probably going to put Mbappe and Dembele and Kane, I’m not messing about here.”
Les Bleus have a rejuvenated striker in former Gunners and Chelsea man Olivier Giroud, with the 36-year-old AC Milan star beating Thierry Henry’s all-time goalscoring record for France at the competition.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe has also been climbing his nation’s rankings and is currently the tournament’s top scorer with five goals.
But McCoist opted to leave out both England headline makers in his combined attack, instead showing his admiration for Barcelona star Dembele.
When asked by co-host Laura Woods whether he really preferred Dembele over four-time Premier League champion Foden, the Scot replied: “I just think he’s outstanding I really do.”
But McCoist did show some love for the rest of the Three Lions squad, despite pushing two of them out of his front three – and that includes picking Jordan Pickford over Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris.
“But I’m taking all the England midfield,” he said. “I’m taking the England goalkeeper.”
England and France are set to go head-to-head in Qatar on Saturday at 7pm, which you can listen to live on talkSPORT.
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