Arsenal star William Saliba started for France against Austria in their opening game of Euro 2024.
Les Bleus haven’t won the competition since Didier Deschamps lifted the trophy as a player all the way back in 2000. They are now dreaming of repeating that this summer.
Before France even flew out to Germany, Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate was expected to start at the back ahead of Saliba. Deschamps has always preferred him.
However, after an amazing season at Arsenal and a solid performance in the friendly against Canada before the Euros, Saliba got the nod in their opener on Monday night.
French media deliver verdict on William Saliba’s performance vs Austria
France are one of the favourites to win Euro 2024.
Les Blues have an amazing squad from back to front and are led by arguably the best player in the world right now, Kylian Mbappe.
Many people expect them to go all the way in the competition, but Austria caused France a few problems at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf on Monday night.
Saliba was handed a rare start at the back, and the Arsenal defender played on the left side of central defence, with Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano starting on the opposite side.
It was a bit of a position change for Saliba because he almost always played as a right-centre-half over the last two years at Arsenal, but he adapted really well.
Yes, the Frenchman got a few touches wrong – one of them could’ve proved costly. However, overall, he had a very good game and Deschamps should be happy with his decision to start him.
Reacting to Saliba’s performance, French media outlet L’Equipe gave him a 6/10 rating and wrote: “For his first in a big tournament, the Arsenal defender was playing big. And he passed the test successfully.
“Dominating in the duel, attentive in depth, he cut – except for that (pass) towards Baumgartner (36th) – several dangerous centres. However, he must win more vigorously before Wimmer (85th).
“In this unusual left axial position, he sometimes suffered in the positioning of his body. But he was able to get out of the pressure situations rather cleanly (a fright, 28th) and even initiated efficient raises.”
GFFN also gave him a 6/10 rating and wrote: “Starting for the first time for France in a major tournament, he did most things right and showed the right amount of aggression when pushing up into the midfield.
“His attempted over-the-shoulder volley, which went straight to an Austria player in a dangerous position perhaps constitutes one of the “things” that Didier Deschamps infamously “doesn’t like”, as does his missed challenge late in the game, but overall, he can be happy.”
FootMercato weren’t as generous as the two above. They only gave Saliba a 5.5/10 rating – the worst among France’s backline.
They wrote: “Aligned alongside Upamecano, at the expense of Konate, the Gunner was one of the surprises reserved by Didier Deschamps. And those who doubted this complementarity, they were quickly reassured.
“Good in his bullet exits under pressure, the former Marseillais did the job despite some interventions. A little less tested in the second period.”
READ MORE: Kylian Mbappe shares what he really thinks about Arsenal star William Saliba
William Saliba’s stats vs Austria will amaze you
William Saliba was arguably the best defender in England in the 2023/24 season.
The Frenchman played every single minute in the Premier League and was one of the biggest reasons why Arsenal took the title race to the last day of the campaign.
Saliba has taken his brilliant form to the Euros now, and his first start in the competition was a solid one, to say the least.
In his 90 minutes on the pitch, Saliba had 75 touches of the ball and maintained a brilliant 94 per cent passing accuracy. He also won 100 per cent of his ground duels and completed all of his dribbles (ESPN).
Defensively, Saliba made six clearances and also won back possession seven times – the most by any player on the pitch on Monday night (Squawka).
There was a lot of noise before the game about how Konate should’ve started ahead of Saliba. There is radio silence on that topic now.