The favorite for the Belgium-France clash: “Let’s not fall into De Bruyne’s trap”
France and Belgium did not shine in the group stage. And everyone imagines a match between sick teams on Monday in Düsseldorf. When asked if there is still a favorite, Konaté launches the meeting. “I read something where Kevin De Bruyne said that France were favourites. But we mustn’t fall into that trap. There are no favourites. It will be 50-50.”
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Liverpool defender believes a new tournament is beginning.Everything is reset. In one match, you can be out. After the group stage, the coach gathered the whole team and he gave a speech to show us that we were entering another competition. The pressure increases, that’s for sure.”
“In the head, there is something that changes from the eighthcontinues the Real Madrid midfielder. There is a different approach. Mentally, we arrive differently.”
The duel against Romelu Lukaku: “The strongest striker I have known”
Neither Dayot Upamecano nor William Saliba, the two regulars in the French central defence, have faced Romelu Lukaku since the start of their careers. But they will be able to count on the advice of Konaté, who came up against Big Rom twice during Chelsea-Liverpool.I’ve already spoken to the group about it. Lukaku is the strongest striker I have known. I had opted for a technique when dealing with him: not making contact. I felt his strength in the first two duels and I understood that it was going to be complicated. He plays a lot with the body. Leaving a little distance, it went pretty well. But he is not the only danger in the Belgian team. With De Bruyne, we will have to close the passes.”
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Camavinga, who revealed that he has some family in Belgium given his origins close to Congo, agrees. “I don’t have the secret to defending against De Bruyne. We will have to take it collectively in defense. There is also Doku who I met in Rennes. Defending against such an explosive guy is tough. He’s a great dribbler like Ousmane (Dembele). Belgium remains a great nation and it will be a difficult match.”
The absence of Thibaut Courtois: “A good thing that he is not there”
Camavinga plays at Real Madrid with Thibaut Courtois. But there will be no reunion on Monday. When asked if he was happy that the goalkeeper had argued with the coach, he pretended not to know anything. “Did he get confused with coach Thibaut? Because of what ? Explain to me. Because of an armband? You come and explain to me after the press conference then. But it’s a good thing for us that he’s not here. Thibaut is a goalkeeper who stops everything. I’ll send him a message but first to Eden (Hazard).”
Memory of the semi-final in 2018: “Eden Hazard was annoying”
Konaté and Camavinga were not yet in the Blues group at the time of the semi-final in Russia between Belgium-France. But they hadn’t missed a beat of the match. “I was in Leipzig, I watched the match with a friendremembers Konaté. I didn’t really believe it. The Belgian team was impressive. Eden Hazard, he was annoying (laughs). I was super happy with the qualification. On the other hand, I was disgusted after the victory in the final. I would have loved to be in France to party. It was fabulous. I hope we’ll experience moments like that again in this Euro.”
A month later, in August 2018, Konaté played a European match in Sweden with Leipzig. He then shared the locker room with a Belgian: Massimo Bruno (ex-Anderlecht). “Who ? Oh yes Massimo! P… I had completely forgotten about it (laughs). No, I didn’t bother him, I’m not like that. Finally, we’ll see if we qualify.”
Camavinga had also been impressed by Hazard. “I watched with family. The Eden match had an impact on me. But I remember Umititi’s goal and his celebration even more (smile).”
