Ibrahima Konate was able to experience a long-awaited competitive victory for France in the opening game of the October break, while Kostas Tsimikas was forced to miss out at Wembley.
The centre-back has struggled to nail down a starting role under Didier Deschamps, but his positive start to the season with Liverpool continued with France on Thursday evening.
Konate was selected alongside Arsenal‘s William Saliba in defence as France met Israel in the Nations League, his second start in the last three games.
What made this one different, though, was that the 25-year-old started and won a competitive game for his country for the first time since October 2023.
France put four beyond Israel in a 4-1 win, with Konate playing the full 90 minutes on a night that saw him displace just three of his 80 passes, creating one chance in the process – as per FotMob.
Prior to Thursday’s game, Konate’s previous five starts for his country either resulted in a defeat or were a friendly encounter, making this a long-awaited three points for the centre-back.
What made it all the more special was that he briefly wore the captain’s armband after Aurelien Tchouameni was withdrawn just moments left in the match.
His outing was described as “diligent” by French outlet Foot Mercato, and he will be hoping to back that up when his side meet Belgium on Monday.
In London, meanwhile, Greece secured their first victory over England but did so without Kostas Tsimikas. The left-back was ruled out due to illness, according to journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos.
He would have watched on from his hotel room as Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s England fell to a 2-1 defeat, with the Scouser playing the full 90 minutes.
England manager Lee Carsley had experimented with his XI, using Jude Bellingham in the false nine position in an attempt to get as many creative players as possible on the pitch.
The English press, as you would expect, were quick to label it a “fail.” Statistically, though, Alexander-Arnold was the Three Lions’ fourth-highest-rated player, creating a game-high four chances.
Curtis Jones was an unused substitute.
As for Caoimhin Kelleher, he played 90 minutes as Ireland secured a late 2-1 victory over Finland for their first win of this Nations League campaign.
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