Arsenal defender William Saliba struggled as France suffered a shock 2-0 defeat against Croatia in their Nations League quarter-final first leg on Thursday night.
The 23-year-old centre-back endured a tough outing in the 2018 World Cup final rematch, as goals from Ante Budimir and former Tottenham winger Ivan Perisic secured a surprise home victory for Croatia.
France dominated possession with 62% and registered 16 shots compared to the hosts’ eight but struggled to trouble Dominik Livakovic in goal, despite Kylian Mbappe’s long-awaited return.
The Real Madrid forward made his first appearance for France in six months but could not find the net despite testing Livakovic with four shots on target.
Saliba Struggles in Shock Defeat
‘He suffered like never before’
William Saliba
Saliba, who partnered Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate in central defence on Thursday, came under heavy criticism from the French media, with MaxiFoot giving him a 4.5 match rating:
“Fairly leaky in his recent outings, the Arsenal central defender was anything but reassuring this evening. Embarrassed by Budimir, he was taken down at the near post by the Croatian striker for the opening goal. We've seen him look much better.”
FootMercato gave the Frenchman a 4/10 and pointed to his battle with Budimir before Croatia's first goal:
“Saliba will need to do some specific distribution training in the coming days.
“The Arsenal defender gave the ball away to his opponents far too often. Before the penalty kick, he gave the ball away to Modric, and what about his completely missed cross to Digne in the first half.
“He made up for it a bit in the duels, and even then, he was behind Budimir for the first goal. He was better, like the whole team, in the second half.
Eurosport gave Saliba the joint-lowest rating among all France players, a 3/10, for his ‘nervous’ display:
“Like Konate, he suffered like never before against Budimir and played backwards throughout the first half.
“He was caught behind him for the opening goal and gave off an impression of nervousness that was unlike him, as seen with his cross directly into the opponent's feet.”
Finally, Homme du Match rated Saliba 6/10 and praised his efforts in both situations leading to goals:
“Often present as the last defender, he also did a vital job managing aerial balls, as well as shoulder duels.
“The central defender did what he could on both goals, without really being able to make up for the individual errors of the others.”
Saliba has made 39 appearances for Arsenal this season, scoring two goals in the Premier League.
He won his 26th cap for France on Thursday and has missed just two Les Bleus matches since the start of 2024.
William Saliba's Arsenal Stats (2024/25 Premier League)
Games
Goals
Assists
Pass accuracy %
Minutes played
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Statistics courtesy ofFbrefandTransfermarkt. Correct as of 21 -03-25.