“He made his athletic quality speak” – Liverpool star receives lavish praise from ex-FIFA World Cup winner for his performances in Qatar

Former France international Bixente Lizarazu has lavished praise on Ibrahima Konate for his performances with Les Bleus at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The defending champions are into the finals of the tournament where they face Argentina on Sunday (December 18) in a bid to retain their crown.

Playing in his first major international tournament with France, Konate has truly come of age with his stellar displays at the heart of their backline.

He started in their semi-final win over Morocco after Dayot Upamecano was ruled out with illness and held the fort superbly as France ran out 2-0 victors.

Lizarazu, who won the 1998 FIFA World Cup with the Blues, called Konate a 'great defender'. Speaking to French television network TF1, he said (via HITC):

“Even against Tunisia (a 1-0 group-stage defeat), he was the only one to produce a very good match. He’s a great defender. He still gave a brilliant performance."

He further broke down his qualities while saying that France have nothing to worry about if Upamecano is ruled out for the finals because they've got Konate.

“(Konate) was present to cut (out danger) at the near post, and made sometimes dangerous tackles in the area. He made his athletic quality speak, his reading of the game too. It reassuring to say that we have three (high-quality) central defenders."

He added:

“If (Dayot) Upamecano cannot play the final, we know that Konate can hold the fort without any problem.”

Konate made his international debut for France in June this year in their UEFA Nations League campaign. He has already established himself in Didier Deschamps' set-up and has earned six caps with Les Bleus.

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France take on Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals

Reigning champions France have made it to back-to-back World Cup finals. They are looking to become the first nation in 60 years to successfully defend their crown.

What makes their campaign even more impressive is the fact that Les Bleus have missed some of their key players. They include the likes of Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, Lucas Hernandez and Christopher Nkunku.

Yet, the holders showed no signs of declining. They have instead swatted aside Poland, England and Morocco to book their place in Sunday's showpiece encounter with Argentina.

La Albiceleste are looking to end a 36-year wait to win their third FIFA World Cup title. What better occasion for that than Lionel Messi's final game in the competition?