Matty Cash is going to have to make room on the walls of his living room.
After recovering Lionel Messi's thanks to his Aston Villa teammate Emiliano Martinez after their group match, he asked Kylian Mbappé for his after the Blues' victory against Poland (3-1).
And this one, he will have deserved it, after facing the French striker for 90 minutes.
A challenge he had been preparing for all day: "I spent the afternoon watching videos of him," he told the Guardian after the meeting.
“I knew it would be difficult but when it stops and then starts, I've never seen anything so fast.
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Between videos and reality, the difference is immense.
"I was watching the videos lying in my bed, but during the game he burned my legs," he continued.
Despite the Frenchman's double in the second period, Matty Cash did quite well, especially in the one-on-one in his lane.
He was rarely overtaken, and managed to steal a few balloons.
“I didn't know if I should wait for him or rush him [...] I did everything I could, and I think I did well.
“It was finally when Kylian Mbappé found himself in the area, in more central positions, that he scored.
In the quarter-finals, the Blues will face England, which has three right-backs in its ranks: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben White and Kyle Walker.
Players that Matty Cash knows well, he who has been playing at Aston Villa since 2020. “Kyle Walker is perhaps as fast as Kylian Mbappé.
He knows the Frenchman is amazing but I think he's the best English right-back.
If anyone can stop him, I think it's him.
The Walker vs Mbappé clash is scheduled for Saturday evening, at 8:00 p.m.
