PADERBORN, Germany — It didn't take long for defender William Saliba to pick his favorite photo from Friday's quarterfinal match between France and Portugal.
Of course, he loved Theo Hernandez's winning penalty in the shoot-out, the celebrations afterwards with the French players and the communion with his delirious fans inside the Hamburg stadium. But the moment, the one snapshot he chose, was when he swatted away Cristiano Ronaldo's challenge after receiving the ball in the first half. True, Ronaldo, 39, is no longer the player he used to be, but he remains one of the best in football and in Saliba's first meeting against him, the Arsenal centre-back showed his class.
Saliba is having a wonderful Euro 2024. He is arguably the best defender left in the competition (France face Spain in the first semi-final on Tuesday, followed by England and the Netherlands 24 hours later) and, having been the best in the Premier League last season, he could be the best defender in the world right now.
A month ago, Saliba came on as a substitute at Clairefontaine (the home of the French national team in the south of Paris). In Didier Deschamps’ mind, Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konaté were his two starters at centre-back, just as they were at the 2022 World Cup. As for Saliba, the coach still had some reservations – very similar to those he had expressed in March, when he said he did not consider him ready to start for France.
Deschamps felt the 23-year-old could be more focused and ruthless in one-on-one situations. Saliba did not take it personally; the two had a lengthy discussion during the pre-Euro training camp and, at the end of it, the Paris-born defender felt he could change his coach's mind. And that is exactly what he has done.
The most impressive thing about Saliba is his quiet ambition and his drive to prove people wrong. He did it at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, who was initially not entirely convinced of the defender's role in his team and was loaned out. He did it under Jorge Sampaoli at Marseille. And he has done it this summer under Deschamps.
It's important to put into perspective how good Saliba has been for France: he had never started a single match at a major tournament until he faced Austria three weeks ago. Yet he has shown plenty of confidence, calmness and power, and against the likes of Marko Arnautovic (Austria), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) and, of course, Ronaldo, none of these world-class strikers have managed to dribble past him or cause him any problems.
Saliba’s partnership with Upamecano, and with Mike Maignan in goal behind them, has been incredible to watch and they have developed a solid understanding. As soon as the game against Belgium was over, the two defenders embraced each other and then ran towards their goalkeeper for a group hug. In that round of 16 match, Saliba faced Lukaku in the first truly spectacular “forward versus defender” duel of the tournament and the Frenchman won easily. The Blues He advanced 1-0.
Having gone from being a team player to a starter, it is fair to say that Saliba is now France's most important player, more so than Kylian Mbappé or Antoine Griezmann, the two stars of this team.
Right now, the debate in France is centred on whether these two players should keep their places in the starting XI for Tuesday's semi-final against Spain in Munich. The fact that Mbappé is clearly out of form and has to wear a protective mask (after suffering a broken nose at the tournament) is a big problem. But he is the captain and the best player in the world, even if he hasn't yet proven it here in Germany, so it's likely he'll play.
Griezmann is a different story. At 33, and despite Deschamps' trust, affection and willingness to try and fit him into the team by changing the tactical system around him, it seems his legs and creativity are simply not up to par this summer. He has scored just two goals in his last 33 appearances and does not have the same X-factor he once had.
The game against Spain will be special for Atletico Madrid's Griezmann, given his connection to a country where he has lived and played longer than he has in France. His defensive work behind the ball and in pressing is still highly regarded by Deschamps, but is that enough to keep his place in the starting XI? Ousmane Dembele was outstanding when he came on for him against Portugal shortly after the hour mark.
As Dembélé walked into the dressing room with his “Man of the Match” trophy after the game, chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP” grew louder as the song “MD” by Tiakola and Niska (two rappers from Paris) blared through the speakers. It will be difficult to put him back on the bench after that performance.
The confidence in this group is rock solid and they now have a huge amount of confidence in winning Euro 2024. But the games and the sense of fun within the camp have been key to keeping the pressure at bay ahead of the semi-final against tournament favourites Spain. For a long time, Saliba was unbeaten in Uno, but Dembélé has claimed his crown! (Incidentally, N'Golo Kanté is still highly suspected of cheating, as is Upamecano.) On the PlayStation, Mbappé has been unbeatable in NBA 2K, although Griezmann has given him some good games.
Spain are a familiar foe and several of the French players (Hernández, Jules Koundé, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga and Dembélé, to name a few) know their opponents well having played in LaLiga for Real Madrid and Barcelona.
In 1984 and in 2000, The Blues They beat Spain on their way to winning two European Championships. If these trends continue three at a time, 2024 could see the same result.
