Ibrahima Konate has dismissed Thomas Tuchel's suggestion that nobody wants to play the World Cup third-place play-off, insisting France will treat the match against England with the utmost seriousness. The former Liverpool defender, now at Real Madrid, says the team wants to win the bronze medal for departing coach Didier Deschamps.
Konate Responds to Tuchel's Comments
England manager Thomas Tuchel claimed after his side's semi-final defeat to Argentina that "nobody wants to play" the third-place match. But Konate pushed back, stating: "I believe as French players, for this team, many players would have loved to compete and played this game. I'm not saying it's easy, far from it."
Konate added: "I've read in the press that Thomas Tuchel said that no-one wants to play this game. Well, it's true that, given the aim and objective we had, we wanted to play the final. But we are still representing France and it is the dream of many people to wear the shirt, the jersey, and sing the national anthem."
National Pride at Stake
The match, set for Saturday in Miami, will see two of football's biggest rivals face off for third place. Konate stressed the importance of respecting the jersey: "Therefore we need to respect the jersey we are wearing. If we believe that this is a duty of ours, we will play with the best team in the same way we did at the start of this competition."
He also highlighted the team's desire to win for Deschamps, who is stepping down as France coach after the tournament. "As a player, we want to win for ourselves before wanting to win for anyone else but it is true we want to pay back the French coach. He did so much for the French team, the individual players, he picked them all, we have to be grateful for that," Konate said.
France's World Cup Journey
France entered the tournament as strong favourites, with Kylian Mbappe chasing the Golden Boot. However, they were eliminated by Spain in the semi-finals. Konate acknowledged the quality of the opposition: "We lost against Spain who are the European champion. They have great players and a great team strength. We are disappointed but we lost to a great team."
He added: "They might be crowned a World Cup winner. Therefore we can say we lost to the best. I don't know why said we would win it. We know it's not that easy."
England vs France: A Historic Rivalry
The third-place play-off adds another chapter to the storied rivalry between England and France. Konate said: "The players on the pitch will want to win. We are disappointed, we didn't want to play this third place playoff, but it is still England v France, there is great history. We need to do our best to get this bronze medal."
