During their run to the World Cup Final, the France team has largely picked itself.
But, after last night, Didier Deschamps has a selection headache over who plays at centre-back against Argentina in the channel where Lionel Messi bamboozled Josko Gvardiol in Tuesday’s semi-final win over Croatia.
In the absence of Dayot Upamecano, who was only fit enough for the bench after struggling with illness, Ibrahima Konate excelled against Morocco. The night was not as comfortable as the 2-0 scoreline suggested, and Liverpool centre-back Konate made a number of vital blocks as France held on to keep their first clean sheet in Qatar.
“Since the last game on Saturday, [Upamecano] has had three difficult days, even though he managed to exercise a bit on Tuesday,” said Deschamps. “I chose Ibou Konate, because of what he showed us before. He has the skills to be at this level.”
Deschamps’s team selections have been largely consistent, but centre-back is one area where he has made changes.
After missing the opening game through injury, Raphael Varane has played every match, while Upamecano has made four starts and Konate three.
Deciding who plays against Argentina is a big call for Deschamps, and whoever is selected will need to play a key part in keeping Messi quiet.
Konate has surely edged ahead of Upamecano, who may have been close to being dropped anyway, after enduring a difficult night in the quarter-finals.
On more than one occasion, Upamecano got too tight to England captain Harry Kane and almost gave away a penalty. Kane had joy against the Bayern Munich man by being able to spin him when he got tight, and similar defending will have Messi licking his lips.
Croatia centre-back Gvardiol knows all too well about the perils of getting too close to Messi. The Argentina captain twisted him inside out on the way to setting up a brilliant third goal in their 3-0 semi-final win.
Konate showed last night how is happy to not be touch-tight to his opponent and, when beaten, he also showed excellent recovery skills. He is currently averaging 6.9 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes at this tournament, the most of any player with three or more starts.
Stopping Messi is a obviously a step up from halting Morocco, but Konate looks better equipped than Upamecano to rise to the challenge.
