Arsenal centre-back William Saliba produced a solid defensive performance for France during their 3-0 win over Sweden in the World Cup round of 32.
Les Bleus went into the game in New Jersey as clear-cut favourites and lived up to expectations with a convincing victory over Graham Potter’s side.
Saliba returned to partner Dayot Upamecano in the heart of the defence. He committed a couple of fouls on Gunners teammate Viktor Gyokeres early on.
However, he gathered composure as the match progressed and delivered a solid display.
Shortly after the game, Ouest-France highlighted the same in their player ratings, handing the Frenchman a 6/10 for his overall performance against Sweden.
They wrote (page 24): “Having been rested for the third match, he initially struggled—finding the going tough against Gyokeres (3rd, 18th minutes)—before gaining the upper hand over his Arsenal teammate (59th minute). It was emblematic of a match in which he grew into the game and delivered a solid performance, once again.”
Saliba completed 92 percent of his passes against Sweden. He won 100 percent of his aerial duels (3/3) but was not that efficient on the ground (2/5). Gyokeres gave him some headache early on, but he managed to find his composure as the game moved forward.
The Gunners star made five recoveries and two clearances. He had a relatively comfortable outing, but could have done better to prevent Gyokeres’ late shot on goal.
France are scheduled to face Paraguay in the World Cup round of 16. They go into the game as firm favourites and should progress to the quarter-final with another resounding win.
If that were to happen, they will face Morocco or Paraguay in the last eight. Saliba was given a much-needed rest against Norway last week after his heavy workload for club and country.
The 25-year-old is widely expected to start for the remainder of Les Bleus’ World Cup campaign.
Stats from Sofascore.com