Ibrahima Konate was a surprise omission for France’s Euro 2024 opener against Austria, with manager Didier Deschamps explaining why he left the defender out.
In the buildup to the Euros, Konate was slated to be first-choice partner to Dayot Upamecano at the heart of France’s defence.
But upon the release of Deschamps’ teamsheet before kickoff on Monday night, it was confirmed that Arsenal centre-back William Saliba had been preferred to Liverpool’s No. 5.
France went on to scrape a narrow 1-0 win, with Kylian Mbappe suffering a shocking nose injury, and concerns were raised over Saliba’s performance.
In his post-match press conference, as reported by Get French Football News, Deschamps detailed why he had opted for the 23-year-old over Konate.
“If I decided to play William Saliba, it is because I thought he was more ready than Konate for such a match,” he told reporters.
“But I don’t want to lose anyone either, we will need everyone.
“[Saliba and Upamecano] have 120 minutes together for the France national team, it’s not a lot, but they have this ability to be very solid in one-on-one [situations].
“Even if there were some clearances that they could improve on, they exuded a lot of strength and calmness.
“We needed that against such an opponent.”
The suggestion is that Deschamps could look to chop and change his centre-back pairing depending on the fixture, which was also the case in France’s two warmup friendlies.
Konate (118), Upamecano (107) and Saliba (135) shared the minutes over meetings with Luxembourg and Canada, though Upamecano was the only one to start both.
Whether Deschamps’ choice for the Group D was vindicated is up for debate, particularly as N’Golo Kante was required to bail Saliba out after a mistimed challenge saw Patrick Wimmer race through for a chance on goal.
Of course, it would be difficult to argue that Konate demanded the position on form, having also lost his place in the Liverpool side at the end of the season.
It is possible that Deschamps will restore the 25-year-old to his lineup for Friday’s clash with the Netherlands, which would pit him against team-mate Cody Gakpo.