Jamie Carragher claims that France’s semi-final man of the match was Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate – and that he should be starting the final.
Konate put in a stellar performance at centre-back for France in their 2-0 World Cup semi-final win over Morocco as he helped Les Bleus make back-to-back finals despite missing the previous two games.
The 23-year-old featured in his fourth game of the tournament and only his first since the group stage after he was dropped against Poland and England.
Konate replaced former RB Leipzig teammate Dayot Upamecano at the heart of the defence as France kept their first clean sheet of the tournament against the Atlas Lions.
Carragher took to Twitter to laud the centre-back’s performance and backed him to start in the biggest game of all.
He tweeted: “The French MOM was Ibrahima Konate, I can’t see how he can be left out of the starting eleven in the final!”
TIF Thoughts on Carragher’s comments…
Konate’s dominating performance was France’s saving grace as they were left under siege from Moroccan attacks for the majority of the second half.
The 23-year-old, who was hailed as a ‘dream’ player by Phil Thompson earlier in the year, received a 7.7 match rating from Sofascore, which was only second to goalscorer Theo Hernandez.
His four clearances, two blocked shots, and five interceptions were all match highs, with his standout performance in France’s backline critical to keeping Morocco out.
He also won two tackles, three duels and had a 92% passing accuracy as he didn’t put a foot wrong defensively, with even his quality on the ball allowing Didier Deschamps’ side to retain possession and release pressure.
Konate has only featured in 280 minutes of football under Jurgen Klopp this season due to injury and having been unable to break into the side alongside Virgil van Dijk.
If he takes this performance and form back to Anfield, the two could form a formidable partnership, with the Frenchman’s performance in the semi feeling like a true coming of age.