It was an unexpected call-up to the France squad for Ibou Konate and so for him to be handed a start in the first game of the tournament would have been a huge moment for the young defender.
The 23-year-old would have been worried when Australia took an early lead in the match but his nation managed to fight back and get themselves a big 4-1 victory over the Socceroos.
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It wasn’t a game full of many individual highlights for the former RB Leipzig man but he did what was required and can be hugely proud of making his first ever appearance in the tournament.
Whether the injuries that helped pave the way for his performance will persist into the second game is still to be seen but no one can ever take the winning performance away from our young centre-back.
You can watch the highlights of Konate’s performance via เดอะค็อป ไทยแลนด์ on YouTube:
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