“The difference is that the Argentines played like a world final”: the strong self-criticism of a footballer from the France team

What happened at Lusail Stadium in the Qatar 2022 World Cup Final will be remembered forever. Beyond the high stakes, Argentina and France played one of the most exciting games of the tournament. After equalizing 3-3, everything was defined in a penalty shootout, in which the figure of Dibu Martínez emerged for those led by Lionel Scaloni to cry champion and embroider their third star.

One of the most memorable plays will undoubtedly be the stoppage against Randal Kolo Muani as the game was about to end. Whoever referred to this action was Ibrahima Konate, center scorer for Liverpool who came on after 112 minutes to replace Raphael Varane. “No one can blame him. If there’s a person who’s mad at him, I fight them,” he said in an interview with YouTube channel Colinterview.

During the interview, the defender with a past at Schaux in France and RB Leipzig in Germany analyzed what happened in the game and explained the main difference between the Blues team and the one managed by Lionel Messi. “The World Final is a different game. In a common game you want to demonstrate your qualities, but this is something else, it’s a situation where everything is allowed. The difference between the Argentinians and us is that they played like a world final. In every duel they hit you,” said the 23-year-old footballer.

“What are you doing? Are you going to complain to the referee? We’re not crazy? They hit you, you get up and you carry on. As if nothing had happened. Because the Argentines are provocative. And as soon as ‘they see they’ve gotten the better of you, they gain confidence. And we gave them that from the start,’ he continued his analysis. And then he added: “We should have ignored them and, on the next one, got to the point. Even if you break his leg, it’s a world cup final. I can’t tell you more. From the start, we should have died on the pitch. That’s the mistake we all made together.”

In another fragment of the interview, Konaté recalled what it felt like inside the European substitutes’ bench when Argentina won 2-0: “During the first 75 minutes, I was on the bench, I turned my head right and left. among other players. They were almost in tears. I was in a state of mind where it was too hard. It’s like when you see things in the world and you’re helpless, you can’t do anything. I was in the same mindset. I saw actions and I said to myself: ‘I would have liked to be there too much’. You can’t do anything, you’re on the bench,” concluded the athlete who, before the World Cup, had only played two UEFA Nations League games in his country’s shirt.

During the tournament, the defender started in the 4-1 win over Australia, the loss to Tunisia and the semi-final win over Morocco. Then he played a quarter of an hour in the group stage against Denmark and in the final in the final against Argentina. He didn’t add minutes against Poland (round of 16) and England (quarter-finals).

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