France defensive mistake could open the door for Liverpool star in three-way battle

Liverpool defender Ibrahim Konate has found himself in another three-way battle for a starting role in France’s side - but an error by Dayot Upamecano may have opened the door.

The margin for error when playing for France is extremely small given the overriding quality in their squad. So far, we’ve seen Arsenal’s William Saliba partner Upamecano at the heart of Didier Deschamps’ defence across all three games. Yet, both have had shaky moments, with the Bayern Munich star clumsily giving a penalty away that gifted Robert Lewandowski the chance to help earn his side a point.

France still qualified as group winners but Konate, who lies in waiting, is yet to feature so far. Heading into the knockout stages, they could face the likes of Germany, Spain and Portugal in the difficult side of the draw. Konate was reportedly set to start the game against Poland which could suggest he is on the verge of coming into the side but those links were proven to be false.

Going back to the previous major tournament, Upamecano was also entrusted ahead of Konate in the World Cup final against Argentina but it was roles reversed in the semi-final win over Morocco. Konate was caught in another three-way centre-back battle with the experienced Raphael Varane - while it is Saliba playing that role this time. He managed three appearances to Upamecano’s five and he will be hoping that Deschamps will grant him an opportunity as he did during that run.

In terms of comparing the two at international level, across the European Qualifying campaign, Konate made five starts and made zero errors that led to a shot or goal and he was dribbled past 0.2 per game which demonstrated his excellent form. Upamecano also played five games but committed a penalty during the same time - he also conceded one at the World Cup as well as Euro 2024. Yet, the Liverpool man managed more interceptions, more clearances, a better ground, aerial and total duels win percentage across that time. Fans will note that the two ex-RB Leipzig stars were partners for a significant amount of time before Liverpool swooped in to sign the 1.94m centre-back in 2021. But Saliba’s form for Arsenal across the past two seasons has made him incredibly difficult to drop. But, if Konate is to come into the side, it would be in place of his former club teammate and him and Saliba would no doubt stand as an intimidating and powerful duo in front of Mike Maignan.