William Saliba was given the nod ahead of Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate as France kicked off their Euro 2024 campaign against Austria.
The Arsenal centre-back was one of the outstanding defenders in the Premier League last term, playing an important role as the Gunners took their title challenge to the last day.
But while Mikel Arteta has made Saliba his No.1 choice at the back - and being rewarded with a number of high-class performances from the 23 year-old - Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps has taken his time to really warm up to the ex-Saint Etienne man.
Saliba made his international debut back in the early part of 2022 and had made 15 appearances for his country ahead of Monday night’s encounter in Dusseldorf. But he had never really been first-choice in his manager’s mind. Part of the World Cup squad in Qatar, he largely watched on as Dayot Upamecano and Raphael Varane were preferred.
With Varane having since retired from the national team, Saliba has still largely had to bide his time, with Konate and Upamecano having been the preferred partnership since; the two know each other particularly well, having previously played together at club level too, with RB Leipzig.
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But after an indifferent second season at Anfield - one where injuries played their part in a stop-start campaign - Deschamps had been more receptive to starting in Germany without Konate.
It was notable that in the pre-tournament matches against Canada and Luxembourg, both Saliba and Konate both started alongside the Bayern Munich defender - before each came on as a substitute alongside the other.
William Saliba got the nod on opening night (2024 Jonathan Moscrop)Nevertheless, in the aftermath of those games, Deschamps explained his reluctance to start the Arsenal man, stating during a pre-tournament press conference at the weekend: “William is one of the very best defenders in the Premier League. I want him to do what he does very well at Arsenal.
"He had a very, very good season. He played many matches, especially with his partner Gabriel, and they were a fundamental part of what Arsenal did this season, particularly in the defensive aspect.
“With us, he has not had the same playing time. There are automatisms which develop through playing matches together. You have repetition and understanding.
“With a national team, we always have so little time, but now they have the possibility of living together for a few weeks and that is even better.
It seems that that has done just the trick and perhaps finally convinced his World Cup-winning coach.
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