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Fans are not happy as France coach Didier Deschamps has decided to bench Ibrahima Konate in favor of Dayot Upamecano for the 2022 FIFA World Cup final against Argentina.
Konate was rock-solid at the back for Les Bleus for the semi-final clash against Morocco. The Liverpool defender was brought into the starting XI after Upamecano caught the flu and was unable to play the game against the Atlas Lions. The Bayern Munich defender, however, has since recovered and has regained his spot in the starting XI for the World Cup final.
Fans, however, are not happy with Deschamps' decision to bench Konate. They opined that after such a solid performance against Morocco, the 23-year-old shouldn't have been omitted from the starting line-up. They also claimed that Argentina captain Lionel Messi will make life difficult for Upamecano.
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Messi is looking to win his first FIFA World Cup trophy with Argentina. He has been in supreme form in Qatar, scoring five goals and providing three assists already. The Argentine captain scored one and assisted another goal in the semi-final clash against Morocco.
Hence, the lion's share of France's work will be to keep him at bay. Whether Upamecano can carry out the duty remains to be seen. Here are some of the best reactions Twitter after Ibrahima Konate was left out of the Les Bleus' starting lineup for the clash against Argentina:
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez slammed France ace Kylian Mbappe ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup final
Kylian Mbappe recently claimed that France will have an advantage over Argentina as football is not as advanced in South America. Mbappe said (via NDTV):
"The advantage we have in Europe is that we play among ourselves with high-level matches all the time, such as the Nations League for example. When we arrive at the World Cup, we are ready, where Brazil and Argentina do not have this level in South America. Football is not as advanced as in Europe. That's why at the last World Cups, it's always the Europeans who win."
Emiliano Martinez has now hit back at the Frenchman. The Argentina shot-stopper said ahead of the FIFA World Cup final (via NDTV):
"He doesn't know enough about football. He never played in South America. When you don't have this experience, it may be better not to talk about it. But it doesn't matter. We are a great team, recognised as such."
