‘Quite fearful actually’ - Kylian Mbappe test reviewed by Preston North End captain Alan Browne

Preston North End captain Alan Browne admits he was ‘quite fearful’ heading into his battle against Kylian Mbappe last week.

The Irishman went up against the France star in the Republic’s Euro 2024 qualifying clash last Thursday. It was then on to facing the Netherlands, which saw Browne lock horns with Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong. Stephen Kenny’s men were defeated on both occasions and their hopes of qualifying for next year’s major tournaments are now extremely thin.

Browne, though, equipped himself admirably across the two matches - going toe-to-toe with world class individuals. He was asked to play at right wing-back against France; a position he has been used in sporadically at club level. The 28-year-old was expecting to line up against Mbappe, though his preparation didn’t do too much for pre-match nerves.

"It was two tough games," said Browne. "Obviously, going into the France one I had watched a lot of Mbappe's clips. I was pretty sure I was going to be playing there. I was quite fearful actually, going into it. He is probably the best in the world; definitely one of the best. His pace is frightening, so I just didn't want to expose myself against him.

“It's obviously better in a back five, when you've got a bit of protection, but it was a tough game. He and Hernandez had us pinned in down the right side for large parts of the game, so it was tough physically and mentally because you've got to just stay switched on for the whole game. If you switch off for a second, he makes that dart in behind. He is really clever with his movements, so yeah it was tough.

“And then Frenkie De Jong was obviously a different challenge, but he was top class as well and you could see that. We obviously fancied ourselves more against the Netherlands; not to say we thought we were going to beat them, but we sort of knew we were capable of doing it. We got right after them and had a good start, but they showed their class and turned the game around in the second half. We struggled to get back into the game from there."