France boss Didier Deschamps has discussed the role of Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate.

Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has been told that he is 'capable of doing much better' as France’s 2026 World Cup campaign begins in earnest.

Les Blues open their qualifying campaign against Ukraine tonight. Konate is set to start for France with William Saliba being forced to pull out of the squad because of injury.

While Konate was a key player to help Liverpool claim Premier League glory last season, he’s had his struggles while representing his country in the past. In a 3-1 loss to Italy last year, the centre-back’s performance came in for criticism, while he did not play a single minute for France at Euro 2024.

What’s been said

But with Saliba sidelined, he has an opportunity to nail down a spot and lead France to the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Ahead of the Ukraine clash, head coach Didier Deschamps was asked about the progress that Konate has made with the national team.

Deschamps said via L’Equipe: “For various reasons, he wasn't at his best. He's capable of doing much better. Things are going well for him at the start of the season at his club. He has important leadership skills. He plays regularly with us. In recent performances, he's capable of better. He knows it; we exchange ideas. He's already used to the very, very high level.”

Konate’s form at the beginning of the 2025-26 season has been met by some criticism. After wins over AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher pointed the finger at the 26-year-old’s performances. Carragher said: “Konate is another one. He has been all over the place.

“You want your centre-back to go and win that header [for Newcastle‘s second goal]. He’s going backward, but he still should deal with that. It felt like it was coming. You can’t deny that, Newcastle deserved it.

“I want my centre-back to go win that. He was all over the place last week, he’s more interested in grabbing [Dan Burn’s] arm, he was really poor in the first half as well. He’s not at the races at all, and I absolutely shudder to think where Liverpool would be without Virgil van Dijk, who has been absolutely outstanding in those games.”

Slot on Konate form

However, Slot did defend Konate’s performances ahead of last weekend’s 1-0 win over Arsenal. The former RB Leipzig man delivered a fine performance before being substituted because of cramp.

“He has things he can improve but starting this season with a different full-back next to him is different as well,” Slot said. “His consistency [in bringing the ball out of defence] is definitely something he can improve, but that will improve the more we work together, the more he’s used to the right full-back next to him and the more he’s used to the other players that are in front of him as well.”