In Mumbai, Kylian Mbappe is going to be "one of the best players" but the French striker will need someone to keep pushing him like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did, former England great Michael Owen said on Wednesday.
With Ronaldo confirming that the current Euro 2024 will be his last appearance in the tournament, the focus will be on the stars of the future who can fill the big jobs and Owen feels there is plenty of young talent to take center stage.
“Well, there will be stars of the future. Kylian Mbappé is going to be one of the best players,” Owen responded to a question during a virtual interaction organized by SonyLiv.
"He (Ronaldo) has already said that this will be his last year. That's life. We've probably already seen him at his best. He's not going to get better now."
"It's time for new players to emerge, someone like Mbappé, (Jamal) Musiala, (Jude) Bellingham, (Phil) Foden... (there are) some great players emerging."
"But it would have to be said that Mbappé is something special, something that when you watch a game leaves you breathless.
“Maybe he needs someone else to push him like Messi and Ronaldo have done throughout their careers. But in terms of quality, for the next five, six, seven or eight years, Mbappé will entertain us a lot,” Owen added.
The French captain, with his vision masked, has only managed one goal in the current Euro Cup, where he managed to sneak into the quarterfinals thanks to an own goal by Belgium.
The stage is now set for a showdown between Mbappé and Ronaldo: France will take on Portugal in the quarterfinals on Saturday (12:30 IST).
Owen said Ronaldo should continue to start for Portugal.
"When you have someone as good as him, he has to play. Nobody scores goals like him. Just his name on this team sheet gives Portugal a presence, gives them an identity," Owen said.
"If you want the ball to stop at someone's feet anywhere in the world and you put your life into it, in the last minute (say) against France, who will it be? You want it to be Ronaldo," England said. great added.
'France, the best in the world'
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Owen called France, runners-up in the last World Cup, the "best team in the world" and backed them to perform well here in the competition, which has seen good results from the "dark horses".
"What we've seen is that a lot of big teams, strong teams, are on one side of the bracket and that gives opportunities on the other side of the bracket to some of the dark horses, for lack of a better phrase," he said. .
"England have obviously been very lucky to be on that side of the draw, but it could be a surprise if it comes from that side."
"Before the tournament, I thought France was the most likely winner. Now they've had some tough games (it could be tough for them), but I still think they're the best team in Europe. I think" "We're the best team in the world." probably right now," he added.
Owen said England need to improve if they are to end their long wait to win the European Championship.
“England have obviously struggled a lot. They will have to improve, otherwise they won't win, but we all know they can improve. The good thing is that we know that England is better than this. We know that their performances can improve and if they improve, they have a good chance of winning this tournament,” he said.
However, Owen wants England manager Gareth Southgate to make changes, although he says they will not be made.
“Not many teams that win a major tournament have played perfect games from the beginning. "If you look at the last World Cup, Argentina, in the group stage, things can go wrong and sometimes it's good to have some problems and advance in the tournament."
“I'm trying to look at the positives for England, because if you look at the performances there's really nothing positive. All we can do is hope. I hope the coach changes one or two things, but I don't think he will,” he added.
With Ronaldo confirming that the current Euro 2024 will be his last appearance in the tournament, the focus will be on the stars of the future who can fill the big jobs and Owen feels there is plenty of young talent to take center stage.
“Well, there will be stars of the future. Kylian Mbappé is going to be one of the best players,” Owen responded to a question during a virtual interaction organized by SonyLiv.
"He (Ronaldo) has already said that this will be his last year. That's life. We've probably already seen him at his best. He's not going to get better now."
"It's time for new players to emerge, someone like Mbappé, (Jamal) Musiala, (Jude) Bellingham, (Phil) Foden... (there are) some great players emerging."
"But it would have to be said that Mbappé is something special, something that when you watch a game leaves you breathless.
“Maybe he needs someone else to push him like Messi and Ronaldo have done throughout their careers. But in terms of quality, for the next five, six, seven or eight years, Mbappé will entertain us a lot,” Owen added.
The French captain, with his vision masked, has only managed one goal in the current Euro Cup, where he managed to sneak into the quarterfinals thanks to an own goal by Belgium.
The stage is now set for a showdown between Mbappé and Ronaldo: France will take on Portugal in the quarterfinals on Saturday (12:30 IST).
Owen said Ronaldo should continue to start for Portugal.
"When you have someone as good as him, he has to play. Nobody scores goals like him. Just his name on this team sheet gives Portugal a presence, gives them an identity," Owen said.
"If you want the ball to stop at someone's feet anywhere in the world and you put your life into it, in the last minute (say) against France, who will it be? You want it to be Ronaldo," England said. great added.
'France, the best in the world'
=================
Owen called France, runners-up in the last World Cup, the "best team in the world" and backed them to perform well here in the competition, which has seen good results from the "dark horses".
"What we've seen is that a lot of big teams, strong teams, are on one side of the bracket and that gives opportunities on the other side of the bracket to some of the dark horses, for lack of a better phrase," he said. .
"England have obviously been very lucky to be on that side of the draw, but it could be a surprise if it comes from that side."
"Before the tournament, I thought France was the most likely winner. Now they've had some tough games (it could be tough for them), but I still think they're the best team in Europe. I think" "We're the best team in the world." probably right now," he added.
Owen said England need to improve if they are to end their long wait to win the European Championship.
“England have obviously struggled a lot. They will have to improve, otherwise they won't win, but we all know they can improve. The good thing is that we know that England is better than this. We know that their performances can improve and if they improve, they have a good chance of winning this tournament,” he said.
However, Owen wants England manager Gareth Southgate to make changes, although he says they will not be made.
“Not many teams that win a major tournament have played perfect games from the beginning. "If you look at the last World Cup, Argentina, in the group stage, things can go wrong and sometimes it's good to have some problems and advance in the tournament."
“I'm trying to look at the positives for England, because if you look at the performances there's really nothing positive. All we can do is hope. I hope the coach changes one or two things, but I don't think he will,” he added.
