Ibrahima Konate responds to Lamine Yamal's thoughts on France
Excitement is steadily growing ahead of the match between the Spanish and French national teams, which will take place as part of the World Cup semi-finals. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
French defender Ibrahima Konate responded to the comments made by the opposing team's young star, Lamine Yamal. In his statements, Yamal had hinted that the French national team should be afraid of Spain.
This confrontation is of great importance not only for the ticket to the final but also from the perspective of the eternal rivalry between two powerful teams. Goal.com reports on this.
The experienced defender, who recently moved from Liverpool to Real Madrid, spoke about the team's psychological state at a press conference held in the city of Boston. He emphasized that the members of the French national team prefer to ignore various external noises and focus all their attention on the upcoming game.
Ibrahima Konate firmly explained that there is no fear in the team and that they will not fall for the opponent's psychological pressure. Konate denied the talk about the French national team being afraid of Spain.
According to him, the players pay no attention to the grandiose words spoken before the game. The most important thing for the team is to maintain the same mood with which they started the tournament with humility and not fall into the psychological traps set by the opponents.
The defender considers Lamine Yamal's opinions to be simply personal views and says they will not affect the situation on the field. While giving a fair assessment of the Spanish national team's strength, the French defender noted that the main danger does not come from just one player.
In his opinion, the Spanish national team does not consist of Yamal alone, but is a cohesive and perfectly functioning mechanism. Therefore, the coaching staff led by Didier Deschamps is working on a special strategy not just against one winger, but against the entire team.
Spain has achieved a certain superiority over France in their head-to-head meetings in recent years. In particular, the Spaniards won in the semi-finals of the European Championship.
Analyzing the reasons for that defeat, Ibrahima Konate admitted that there was a slight lack of mutual understanding in the defensive line at the time. He said that the fact that the lineup was acting together for the first time influenced the final result.
The World Cup semi-final will take place in the city of Arlington, Texas. This clash is being evaluated by many experts as a final held ahead of schedule.
For Ibrahima Konate and his teammates, this game is an opportunity to take revenge for previous failures. According to reports, there are no serious losses in the French national team squad, and the players are in fighting form.
Finally, Ibrahima Konate added that all questions will be answered on the field. According to him, the French fully believe in their strength and will use all their capabilities to reclaim the world championship title.
The course and result of the game will show how prepared the two teams are.
