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Ibrahima Konate was placed into France’s starting XI in the side’s 2022 World Cup semi-final versus Morocco and performed heroically to see his nation reach a second consecutive final.
France were forced to make two changes to their starting lineup ahead of the vital fixture on Wednesday evening in Qatar after center-back Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot were ruled out due to an illness in the camp.
Liverpool defender Konate was chosen to lineout at the heart of the French defense alongside Man United’s Raphael Varane, beating out Arsenal’s William Saliba in the process. The Reds star did not disappoint, putting in a perfectly solid appearance at center-back to see Les Bleus keep a clean sheet against their North African opponents.
Though the Moroccans had garnered a reputation for their defensive structure at the Qatar tournament, France were able to open the scoring early through a fifth minute Theo Hernandez goal. Substitute Randal Kolo Muani got Les Bleus’ second goal with just over ten minutes remaining in the second half to secure France a spot in the World Cup final.
Konate leads the French defence
However, the Moroccans were the better side for many periods of the tie, though they really struggled to get that all-important equalizer as France’s defence, led by Konate, remained strong. Unfortunately for the center-back, he could not bask in his achievement following the result as he was whisked away by officials for a routine doping test.
While his teammates were celebrating in the side’s dressing room, Konate and his defensive teammate Jules Kounde were taken to give samples to anti-doping officials. The defender posted his disappointment at this to social media via video footage.
“We can’t even celebrate,” Konate stated as he filmed Kounde behind the scenes in Doha, “It sucks,” Kounde said to him.
Could Konate Start the World Cup Final?
The Reds’ center-back will certainly have put himself front and center in manager Didier Deschamps’ mind ahead of Les Bleus’ final against an Argentina side led by Lionel Messi.
Deschamps’ team will have to be solid at the back when facing Messi and the South American side’s many other attacking threats and after his recent performance there is a chance that Konate will start ahead of Upamecano, who may be still recovering from illness.
The defender was praised by several pundits after the fixture, with no less then ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher leading the way on social media.
“The French MOM was @IbrahimaKonate_. I can’t see how he can be left out of the starting eleven in the final!” Carragher stated on Twitter.
Konate, who is still just 23 years old, has lined out for his club very little this season, appearing just twice in the English Premier League and twice in the Champions League. Manager Jurgen Klopp has mostly preferred Joe Gomez or Joel Matip to partner Virgil van Dijk over the Parisian but that may change when the season restarts if Konate can perform similarly to how he did on Wednesday night.
For now though, the defender will be hoping to keep his place in the France team as they attempt to win a second consecutive World Cup title this weekend.
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