William Saliba started for France against Austria in their Euro 2024 opener on June 17th.
Despite expectations favoring Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate, Saliba got the nod due to his impressive season at Arsenal and solid performance in a pre-Euros friendly against Canada.
Didier Deschamps's side entered the tournament as one of the favorites, however, Austria posed challenges despite the 0-1 defeat at Dusseldorf's Merkur Spiel-Arena.
The Gunners' star played on the left side of central defense alongside Bayern Munich's Dayot Upamecano. French media outlet L’Equipe gave the 23-year-old a 6/10 rating, praising his debut in a major tournament and describing his performance as successful.
“For his first in a big tournament, the Arsenal defender was playing big. And he passed the test successfully.
“Dominating in the duel, attentive in depth, he cut – except for that (pass) towards Baumgartner (36th) – several dangerous centres. However, he must win more vigorously before Wimmer (85th).
“In this unusual left axial position, he sometimes suffered in the positioning of his body. But he was able to get out of the pressure situations rather cleanly (a fright, 28th) and even initiated efficient raises.”
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