text: Ibou Konate was handed a surprise start for France in the place of Dayot Upamecano who was too ill to feature in the game against Morocco and it’s fair to say that he delivered for his country.
  With Achraf Hakimi marauding down the right-wing for his nation, our No.5 scurried across and delivered a huge tackle to block the cross of the PSG man and ensured that it went out for a corner.
  The defender has staked a huge claim on possibly being handed a starting role for the final against Argentina and it’s hard to see how the Bayern Munich centre-back can pip him to a place in the team now.
  Fingers crossed that the 23-year-old can become the third player in our history to be on the pitch as his nation win the World Cup.
  You can watch the video of Konate’s tackle courtesy of BBC Sport (via @KonateFC on Twitter):
  On repeat. 😍⛔️
  pic.twitter.com/75RC3tmzXf— 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗙𝗖 (@KonateFC) December 14, 2022