Konate was, however, unable to enjoy his team’s 2-0 victory over the North Africans, as he was pulled in for doping tests after the match
By Kehinde Okeowo
Liverpool legend, Jamie Carragher has eulogised French defender, Ibrahima Konate, after putting up a superb performance on Wednesday night and helping defending champions, France, reach back to back World Cup finals.
Konate, who missed Le Blues celebrations after his World Cup semi-final heroics, was one of two enforced changes from the team that beat England in the quarter-finals, replacing Dayot Upamecano as the defender and Adrien Rabiot were ruled out due to illness.
He was preferred to Arsenal’s William Saliba to fill in alongside Raphael Varane, and the Liverpool ace rewarded his coach by stepping up with a stunning display.
However, the defender was unable to enjoy the well-deserved celebrations after their 2-0 win over Morocco after being pulled in for doping tests after the game.
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Konate and fellow defender Jules Kounde were pulled in to give samples by officials as their teammates continued celebrating in the dressing room.
After resurfacing in the dressing room he said as he filmed his teammate behind the scenes “We can’t even celebrate,” and his fellow defender, Kounde replied, “It sucks,”.
Konate’s performance on the night caught the eye of ex-Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher, who took to social media to praise the centre defender.
He wrote on his Twitter handle: “The French MOM was @IbrahimaKonate_. I can’t see how he can be left out of the starting eleven in the final!”
Konate’s man of the match (MOM) performance in the game against African representative, Morocco, will no doubt give manager Didier Deschamps some food for thought as he considers his defensive options for the final.
