Ibrahima Konate urges France to stay grounded and fear no one before Spain game
Ibrahima Konate says France should not be afraid of anyone. Pic: Mike Egerton/PA
Ibrahima Konate says France should not be afraid of anyone as they prepare for their World Cup semi-final with Spain on Tuesday in Dallas.
Les Bleus – who beat Morocco 2-1 in the quarter-final – have looked like the team to beat in this tournament and are the favourites to lift the trophy next Sunday.
France will be looking to make it into a second successive final but European champions Spain are aiming to reach their first World Cup final since they won the tournament in 2010.
Spain only conceded their first goal in the 2-1 quarter-final victory over Belgium.
Defender Konate has seen game time limited so far, having only featured in France’s 4-1 win over Norway, but he thinks his team should not be scared of any side left in the competition.
He told a pre-match press conference: “In all honesty we don’t listen to what is being said regarding all of that. You shouldn’t be afraid of anyone. We have to stay grounded in the humility we’ve had since the start.
“And we mustn’t fall into that trap, especially at this point in the competition. We are going to try to prepare ourselves the best way possible until that moment.
“And at the end of the match, I hope the result will be in our favour. The Spanish team is an exceptional nation with a lot of individual qualities.”
Spain have an abundance of attacking talent at the top end of the pitch, with Lamine Yamal widely regarded as the biggest threat.
The 19-year-old Barcelona player has only scored one goal in the tournament but has contributed with several high quality performances.
Asked about the threat of Yamal, Konate responded: “The goal isn’t to focus on just one player in particular, because it’s the entire team that can cause harm. So, it’s not just Lamine. It’s the whole team.
“It’s clear we’re going to talk about what they’ve been offering since the start of this competition, because what they offer offensively is quite exceptional.”
Last summer, Spain came out on top in an entertaining 5-4 victory over France in the Nations League, having also beaten them 2-1 in Euro 2024.
Spain will be looking to earn another win in a major competition and continue their good record as they seek to reach another final.
Midfielder Rodri explained: “France are one of the best teams here, in great form, but so are Spain. We can beat them, we’ve seen that at the Euros and in the Nations League.
“We’ve got the feel of things as we went, and now we’re in a good moment. I see a team that’s as competitive as (we were) at the Euros.”
The 30-year-old Manchester City player added: “This is a big challenge against one of the teams playing the best and we’re looking forward to it.”
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