Ibrahima Konate embraced the responsibility of captaining his country on Sunday night as he helped France to clinch first place in their UEFA Nations League group following a 3-1 win over Italy.
Les Bleus needed a two-goal victory to pip the Azzurri for first place in Group A2, and they duly got it in Milan by invering the scoreline from the previous clash between the two teams in Paris in September.
The Liverpool defender was handed the armband from the start for the first time in place of permanent captain Kylian Mbappe, who wasn’t in Didier Deschamps’ squad this month.
Konate addresses France teammates
The English language X channel of the France national team posted footage from the away dressing room at the San Siro featuring Konate and Mike Maignan addressing his teammates before the fixture.
The Liverpool centre-back stressed the importance of set pieces ‘in defence and attack’ and also underlined the incentive to top the group by saying: “Guys, there’s a first-place finish up for grabs too. First place means that, in the next round, the second leg will be at home. That’s what’s important too, guys, but today it’s all about revenge. Revenge, revenge, revenge.”
At the end of the clip, the 25-year-old is seen telling Jules Kounde: “You know what we have to do, boss. Keep talking a lot with everyone.”
(Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Konate already looks like captain material
The dressing room footage provides a fascinating insight into Konate’s demeanour as captain of his country in the minutes immediately prior to a crucial fixture against a historic rival.
The Liverpool man delivered his message calmly, eschewing any need for a passionate drill sergeant-esque rant, yet the authority and conviction in his voice is still evident.
It suggests that the defender has the necessary temperament and respect of his teammates to be considered a vaible choice as a permanent captain of France in the future, and he’s reportedly a candidate for the role if Mbappe were to voluntarily give up the armband.
Konate has had a natural leader in Virgil van Dijk alongside him at Anfield over the past three-and-a-bit years, and the Dutchman’s authority seems to have rubbed off on his centre-back partner for the Reds.
We could become quite accustomed to seeing Liverpool’s number 5 leading out the French national team on a regular basis in the coming years!
You can see Konate’s message to his France teammates below, via @FrenchTeam on X:
"𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦" 
Words of inspiration from Konaté and Maignan in the dressing room before Italy-France 
#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/hqMSl6LL8Y
— French Team 
(@FrenchTeam) November 19, 2024
The post (Video) What Ibrahima Konate told France teammates in dressing room before revenge win v Italy appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
