Liverpool fans have blasted Didier Deschamps' decision to play Dayot Upamecano over Ibrahima Konate in the World Cup final.
Konate has been in brilliant form for France in the run-up to the final, and was unlucky to find himself on the bench.
France are blessed with defensive talent, as they boast the likes of Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Konate, Upamecano and William Saliba in their squad but also had the likes of Wesley Fofana and Presnel Kimpembe injured prior to the tournament.
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But it's the Bayern Munich centre-back that has taken the criticism on social media, with Konate sat on the bench.
Konate has certainly been in great form, backed up by a statistic from Opta that revealed how the Liverpool centre-back has won 95% of his duels during this World Cup which is the highest % success rate of anyone at the entire World Cup.
The 23-year-old had started three out of the six games for France ahead of the final, but also completed 90 minutes in the semi-final against Morocco, and he may certainly feel that he deserved to start the final.
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Upamecano struggled in the first half, as a Lionel Messi penalty and an excellent team move polished off by Angel Di Maria saw France go in at half-time 2-0 down.
The Bayern defender lost possession five times, made one foul, won 50% of his duels and managed one tackle.
He did also give the ball away in the build-up to the second goal scored by Di Maria, but the team play from Argentina was a sweeping, perfect move that was virtually unstoppable, even if Upamecano did give the ball away.
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Liverpool fans came to their player's defence on social media, with one commenting that 'Konate
is clear'.
One Liverpool fan slammed Deschamps' decision: "France biggest mistake was not starting Konaté."
While another commented in the same vein: "Konate dropped a masterclass against Tunisia and Morocco, yet doesn’t start the final, while Upamecano’s positioning proves costly. Funny."
One rival fan put himself in the shoes of a Liverpool fan: "Never thought I’d ever be pushing propaganda for a Liverpool player but I see why they were upset that Konate was benched for Upamecano now."
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There was an illness scare that plagued the French squad prior to the final that affected three players in the squad, including Konate, Kingsley Coman and Varane.
Perhaps that played a part in a subdued first-half performance from the France side, but Deschamps had ruled that he didn't 'have any particular worries ahead of the game'.
It was a nightmare first half for his side but France did bounce back to draw level late on thanks to a brace from star man Kylian Mbappe to level the scores at 2-2 at the time of writing.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Football, Football World Cup, Ibrahima Konate, Dayot Upamecano, Didier Deschamps, France
