EXCLUSIVE | Mikaël Silvestre on France’s best defensive partnership: “Ibrahima Konaté is still sometimes a bit inconsistent.” | OneFootball

Retired France international Mikaël Silvestre sat down with Get French Football News to discuss the national team as we slowly begin to approach the FIFA 2026 World Cup, as well as preview tonight’s clash between two of his former teams: Internazionale Milan and Arsenal. 

There’s a sense that Deschamps is still deciding on whether to partner Saliba with Konaté or Upamecano at the World Cup. What do you think is France’s best defensive partnership? 

I think Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba is the best one. I think Ibrahima Konaté is still sometimes a bit inconsistent. We’ve seen that with Liverpool, we’ve seen that with France. I think Upamecano might be the one, but it’s a close call. And if one doesn’t perform the other will step in right away. I think Didier Deschamps has that luxury to call on three top defenders. 

After reaching the final of two successive World Cups, would anything less than that be a failure for France?

Yeah. We became more hungry that’s for sure. [Hungry] for lifting the trophy. The last one [2022 World Cup] was a close call. We are equipped all over the pitch to go and compete for the title again, but it’s a knockout stage, it’s a World Cup, so anything can happen before the final. The objective is to get there for sure, and I think everybody is conscious of it. Not overconfident, because you have some great teams in the tournament, you have to face before getting there, but I think the objective is minimum the semi-finals. 

Since Olivier Giroud retired, Marcus Thuram has been the starting striker. Do you think he’s done enough with France to keep his place in the side?

I think right now, Ousmane Dembélé would be the starter, and then Marcus Thuram would come on more as a sub. So in that order, and then you have Hugo Ekitike, who’s part of the setup since joining Liverpool. Another deputy Ousmane, but yeah, Dembélé should be starting, and then it’s up to these two to challenge for the second spot. Most of the time, we play with one striker. 

I know we’ve often seen Dembélé on the right for France, but do you think it’s time we see him as the nine?

I think so. I think because we’ve got Michael Olise, Désiré Doué, and we’ve got Bradley Barcola. It makes sense to have Ousmane positioned as a number nine. It makes sense, and I think that’s where his best performances have lately been in that position. 

Arsenal and Inter are both leading their respective leagues. Who do you think is going to come out best in their clash?

I think if Arsenal play to their level, they should win that game, but at San Siro, Inter, with their support, it’s not going to be an easy game for Arsenal. It’s still a long campaign for the Champions League, but this one [matters] because it’s the first in the Premier League against the first in Serie A. I think Arsenal could be winning that one even away from home. 

I know you still follow Inter quite a bit. Could you tell me a bit about their season?

Yeah, it’s a strange one this year in Italy. They’re leading, but it should be a bigger margin. They’ve had some upsets. Yeah, the difference is quite narrow at the top. It’s quite a similar squad to the previous seasons, so it’s the same Inter but with a new manager [Cristian Chivu]. Although they are a little bit more direct than they were with Inzhagi. So they try to use the pace of the strikers a little bit more than in the past, when they’re building. 

There’s a narrative that the quality in Serie A has been on a decline. Do you think this game could disprove that idea?

It’s just one game. I don’t think you define the level of the league in one game, but if we look at the Italian teams and the league in general, and compare it to what it was. It’s been like this for a long time, since Inter won the treble [2009/10 season], the Italian league has not been the strongest. As you know, the top clubs have had financial issues, so they’re not able to compete with the Spanish league and especially the Premier League to attract the top talent and retain the top talent. So it’s not the same as before. 

Mikaël Silvestre was speaking exclusively to Get French Football News on behalf of Esports Insider. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland