Liverpool star Ibrahima Konate hits back at criticism of Arsenal defender William Saliba amid France battle | OneFootball

Gunners star has ousted Reds ace for starting berth

Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has issued a stirring defence of Arsenal star William Saliba.

France manager Didier Deschamps has selected Saliba over Konate during their run to the Euro 2024 semi-finals, where they meet Spain in Munich on Tuesday night.

The 23-year-old started only seven of the 27 games France had played since making his debut in March 2022 despite excellent form at club level.

William Saliba has been praised for his performances for France at Euro 2024

AFP via Getty Images

"For France he has limited game time, but when he plays that hasn't necessarily gone well," said Deschamps. "With certain players, I make sure to persevere, because it can be confidence or little blockages that can shift."

In September 2022, Saliba was brought off at half-time when Les Bleus were losing 2-0 to Denmark and it was a year before he started another game.

Saliba, however, has largely been praised for his performances despite a relatively underwhelming French campaign, with the World Cup finalists having conceded only one goal all tournament.

Such is his standing in the France squad, Konate moved to defend his teammate from a fan account dedicated to the Liverpool defender which highlighted a mistake Saliba made during the penalty shootout win over Portugal on Friday.

Konate replied to the clip on X, writing: “My brother stop doing that, Saliba is so good and he’s my brother! He deserves all this!

“So let’s be happy for! Thank you for supporting me I wasn’t 100 per cent that’s all, now we have to go to the final.”