Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konaté to captain France against Azerbaijan | OneFootball

Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konaté (26) will be handed the skipper’s armband for France when Les Bleus take on Azerbaijan on Sunday at Baku. France qualified for the 2026 World Cup on the back of their concinving 4-0 home win against Ukraine on Thursday. Les Bleus are indeed certain to win the European Qualifiers’ Group D, so today’s game against bottom-placed Azerbaijan is a dead rubber.

Didier Deschamps previously confirmed he would heavily rotate his squad against Azerbaijan. Kylian Mbappé already left the France camp to return to Madrid whereas Mike Maignan will be replaced by PSG goalkeeper between the sticks. In their absences, the skipper’s armband will go to Konaté, Deschamps confirmed to TF1. 

The Liverpool centre-back is expected to partner PSG’s Lucas Hernandez in France’s backline.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval