‘Impeccable’: Ibrahima Konaté unanimously hailed as France’s best player vs Tunisia

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Ibrahima Konaté earned plaudits on Wednesday as France lost vs Tunisia. The Liverpool defender boosted his reputation.

France rotated their XI heavily against Tunisia after already securing progress before the game. It meant there was a lot of inexperience out there – and it eventually cost them.

Tunisia found the only goal of the game to win 1-0, though Antoine Griezmann saw one disallowed right at the death for a controversial offside decision. The Africans got a historic win, then, and it’s safe to say that few French players forced their way into Didier Deschamps’ best-XI thoughts.

One player who might have done, however, was Ibrahima Konaté. The centre-back really caught the eye here on his second World Cup start.

French media react to Ibrahima Konaté vs Tunisia

GetFootballNewsFrance loved Konaté’s display. They gave him an 8 out of 10 – only Aurélien Tchouaméni, with 6, managed above a 5. They wonder if he did enough to win back a starting spot going forward.

Le10Sport also had Konaté and Tchouaméni as the standouts. Both got 6 out of 10 and they called the Liverpool man ‘very impressive’ and ‘impeccable’ with his duels.

Foot Mercato were another who named Konaté Man of the Match. 7 out of 10 was their score, labelling him ‘the boss of the defence’.

L’Équipe loved Konaté’s display, too. They say he played for two, essentially, as he covered Eduardo Camavinga at left-back. They feel he was by far the best defender and the only France player who really delivered.

And Le Parisien are another who name Konaté as Man of the Match. They give him a 7 out of 10 and believe he made himself a ‘serious option’.

A really impressive game from Konaté, then. We were initially surprised he went to the World Cup, given his lack of games for Liverpool this season. Deschamps trusted him, however, and now he’s getting repaid for that.

The 23-year-old continues to build a fantastic reputation and Liverpool can feel confident that they’ve got a world-class player here. Konaté is delivering on the absolute biggest stages, after all.

Liverpool should get an even better player back once this tournament is over. One who might just be starting for France as they go far in the tournament.