Arsenal star William Saliba started for France in their 1-0 victory over Austria, and performed well for the most part.
The 23-year-old was outstanding for Arsenal all season, but many were surprised that he was seemingly not guaranteed a spot in the French National Team.
Saliba looked set to start on the bench at Euro 2024, with Didier Deschamps explaining that he wanted to maintain continuity between Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate, but the France manager pulled a U-turn and started the Arsenal defender alongside Upamecano for their opening Euro 2024 game against Austria.
French media praised Saliba’s display as France kept a clean sheet, but did point out that he had a couple of nervy moments, and Deschamps has now given his verdict on his performance.
Didier Deschamps highlights room for improvement after William Saliba France display
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Deschamps explained why he changed his mind and decided to start the centre-back ahead of Konate.
“If I decided to play William Saliba, it is because I thought he was more ready than Konaté for such a match. But I don’t want to lose anyone either, we will need everyone,” he stated.
“They (Saliba and Upamecano) have 120 minutes together for the France national team, it’s not a lot, 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,”
William Saliba performed well in tough circumstances for France
Despite being one of the favourites to win Euro 2024, France endured a tough game against a resilient Austria side, who had chances to score.
Saliba lined up for his tournament debut on the left side of the centre-back pairing, a position normally occupied by Gabriel Magalhaes for Arsenal, and despite performing well on the ball, he did have some shaky moments which were out of character for a player of his quality.
The Arsenal sensation did enough to keep his place in the side, and he will hope that the experience of a tough game against Austria sets him up well for the rest of the European Championships, whilst also helping build a connection with Upamecano at the back.