William Saliba has become a national hero made in hero for France in Germany 2024.
William Saliba continues to star for the French national team as they secured their passage into the semi-final of the UEFA Euro following their penalty shootout win over Portugal.
Didier Deschamps’ men are into the last four in an uncharacteristic fashion having scored just one goal from their own player and two others courtesy of own goals, making it three after five games in Germany 2024.
As the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann and Les Bleus’ other talented attackers have let them down in the 17th edition of the most prestigious continental competition, uniting nations in Europe, the two-time winners have drawn strength from usual source to stay on course.
In William Saliba, they have one of the best defenders in the world despite his young age. It appeared he needed no convincing given how good he has been since his breakthrough, but Deschamps was not a fan until he made the unexpected call at the start of their campaign in Germany.
William Saliba, five games into the tournament has now made the position his own and alongside N’Golo Kanté have been France’s best players so far as they look for their first Euro success in 24 years.
In this article, our writer, Hassan Afolabi goes behind the patient of the Arsenal defender, dealing with both disappointment and the comments made by Deschamps when struggling to fit in with the national team and now becoming their star.
William Saliba : From the rejected stone to becoming the cornerstone
Williams Saliba is now a national hero made in the Euros, but he was already a star before starting to star for Didier Deschamps and his minions.Coached by the father of Kylian Mbappé at the age of six when at Bondy, William Saliba moved south to Saint Etienne in 2016, where he would sign a professional contract at the age of 17.
Growing up, Saliba started out as a striker but was converted into a center back by his coaches, who recognized his physical attributes and defensive capabilities.
The now 23-year-old is the perfect mould for a center back. His height, strength, and tactical understanding of the game makes him more suited for a defensive role, allowing him to excel and develop his skills effectively as a central defender.
That explains why he his so calm and collected on the ball and could sometimes beat a couple of players surging forward from the heart of defence.
Less than two years after he arrived in Saint Etienne, William Saliba emerged from her Academy, cited on the hills surrounding the city, and slotted in seamlessly into the first team at a very young age 18.
Saliba was already making good impressions during his time in the Saint Etienne Academy. On one occasion, former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was amongst the spectators and the Frenchman was not unimpressed, hailing his physical and technical qualities, which stood out even at a young age.
In just over a year after he signed to become a professional, William Saliba signed a long-term contract with the Arsenal in a £27 million deal, The Gunners who may have taken heed of an advice from their former boss.
When Arsenal eventually signed the defender in 2019, Arsene Wenger said: “He is a very promising player with big potential. I believe he is a very strong, determined defender who is a strong competitor.”
Tough start at Arsenal
Saliba has never had it easy convincing for a chance to compete at top level. Despite signing him for a considerably huge fee as an 18-year-old, Saliba would not even make the bench for a competitive game at the club until 2020, when he was an unused substitute in Arsenal’s penalty shootout win over Liverpool in the Community Shield final.
Saliba had spent the 2019-20 season on loan at Saint Etienne and on returning from that, he was omitted from Arsenal’s squad for the new season by Mikel Arteta, leaving him to only play for the youth team and in domestic Cups.
The lost of his mother in October 2020 also impacted his development in England. Looking for some sort of solace, Saliba was loaned back to France in the winter window, where he joined OGC Nice for the remaining six months of the campaign.
There was where he found his feet and love for the game again. Saliba impressed for Nice, making 20 Ligue 1 apperances, helping the club to a top 10 finish.
He would go on to spend the following season in the French top-flight playing on loan for Olympic Marseille, where he was awarded the young best player in the league, helping the club a top two finish, behind PSG Paris Saint-German.
Saliba returned to Arsenal and sealed a starting spot in the team, securing their return to the UEFA Champions League after seven seasons and leading their charge for the league title in back-to-back seasons, the first where they fell short in the wake of his season ending injury in March 2023.
He has been one of the best defenders around in the last three years. However, he had constantly been overlooked by Didier Deschamps when it comes to selection with the French national team.
William Saliba : A national hero made in Euros
William Saliba has now won 20 caps for the national team since his debut in late 2022, seven of those have come this summer, while many of those in the former have been as a substitute and in friendly games.
In 2023, Saliba made just one appearance for France. While it is undeniable that his chances was not that good with Raphael Varane around, Deschamps gave no assurance that the former Saint Etienne teenager had any chance of making it with the national team.
In March this year, when responding to questions as to why Saliba hasn’t been given more play time with the national team despite his reputation at club level, Didier Deschamps responded :”He is having a good season, but he also does things that I don’t like so much. For France, he has limited game time, but when he plays, that hasn’t necessarily gone well. The hierarchy doesn’t favour him at the moment, but he is here.”
However, everything changed for Saliba in the national team after the loss to Germany in the March international break. He started and impressed the following game as Les Bleus eded Chile in a 3-2 scoreline, making lastman clearance to deny Chile an equalizer late in the game.
With Raphael Varane now out of the picture following his decision to call time on his engagement with the national team, that leave the country with the likes of Ibrahima Konate, Dayot Upamecano, Benjamin Pavard, all of whom were considered above Saliba in the pecking order.
Ahead of their opening game of Euro 2024, French top news outlet L’Equipe published an information that Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano will form the center back pair in the competition, leaving William Saliba, who had played more league minutes than the other two combined in the just concluded season, on the bench.
However, reverse was the case as Saliba started in the company of Upamecano in the 1-0 win over Austria. In that game, Saliba made the most passes, and the most accurate passes, while maintaining almost the best success rate.
From there, there look to be no chance anyone takes him out of the team. He continues to get better game after game and France boasts the best defensive record so far, with their only goal conceded coming from the a Robert Lewandowski penalty in a 1-1 draw with Poland in their final group game.
In addition to his sensational breakthrough with France, Saliba has shut out some big names in the European Championship. Portugal’s star-studded , which featured Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leao and plenty others has been kept at bay by the Arsenal man and his colleagues.
They are the only side to stop the Netherlands from scoring since March 2023, ending the Dutch’s 14 games scoring run. The likes of Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and others had 0.47 expected goals in the entirety of the game.
Saliba’s top performances in the Euros have not under the radar. English pundit Rio Ferdinand has said recently that the Frenchman is the best defender in the world at the moment.
Speaking via Five, the former Manchester United man was quoted to have said; “I think if you were going to pick the best center-half in the world right now, you’d go with William Saliba.”
Eyes will be on the 23-year-old when France take on Spain for a place in the final of the tournament. While it appears there is no questioning his place in the team, Saliba will still look to get better and take advantage of the opportunity to win a major silverware with his country, and stamp his authority on his spot in the team permanently.
Alvaro Morata will be another big name to try and outmaneuver on Tuesday. The success of France is now down to the performances of their defence as their attackers have let them down so far in Germany 2024.
William Saliba has had to wait for his time with France and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Now he is not only a regular but a player they rely on amidst this difficult time. Good for them, he had been prepared for this moment.
2 Comments
Superb article
Well detailed write up, very insightful