William Saliba impressed during France’s narrow win over Austria (Picture: Getty)
Didier Deschamps praised the performance of his new-look central defensive partnership, which included Arsenal star William Saliba, as France began their Euro 2024 campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Austria.
Saliba’s sensational form for his club over the last two seasons has seen him establish a reputation as one of the Premier League’s elite, if not best, defenders.
Despite his consistently outstanding performances for the Gunners, Saliba has found his hard to win the trust of his national team manager.
Deschamps criticised the 23-year-old in the build-up to the tournament, revealing there were aspects of the stylish centre-half’s game he wasn’t a fan on.
The World Cup winning boss looked set to start the Euros with former RB Leipzig teammates Ibrahima Konata and Dayot Upamecano at the heart of his defence but sprang something of a surprise with his team selection last night.
Saliba was selected in place of Liverpool’s defensive linchpin, Konate, and rewarded Deschamps’ decision with a typically accomplished display.
‘If I decided to play William Saliba, it is because I thought he was more ready than Konate for such a match.
‘But I don’t want to lose anyone either, we will need everyone. They (Saliba and Upamecano) have 120 minutes together for the France national team, it’s not a lot.
William Saliba had been criticised by Didier Deschamps in the build-up to France’s Euro 2024 campaign (Picture: Getty)
William Saliba started alongside Dayot Upamecano in France’s win over Austria (Picture: Getty)
‘But they have this ability to be very solid in one-on-one [situations], even if there were some clearances that they could improve on, they exuded a lot of strength and calmness. We needed that against such an opponent.’
France and Deschamps, meanwhile, have been left sweating on the health of their captain Kylian Mbappe after the new Real Madrid signing was left nursing a suspected broken nose.
Mbappe left the pitch in a blood-stained shirt and was taken to a local hospital where the damage is being assessed.
‘He’s got a really bad nose,’ Deschamps confirmed after the match. ‘We’ll have to wait and see, the medical staff are dealing with it.
‘We’ll have to see what’s going to be done and then how long it will take. It’s very bad news for us tonight.
‘Obviously, the French team with or without him, this is not the same thing. I hope he can be there.’
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