French media praise Saliba and question if Ronaldo even played | OneFootball

William Saliba has earned praise from the French media after helping his team into the semi-finals of Euro 2024, having knocked out Portugal on penalties.

HAMBURG, GERMANY: William Saliba of France celebrates following the team’s victory in the penalty shoot out during the UEFA EURO 2024 quarter-final match between Portugal and France at Volksparkstadion on July 05, 2024. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

France have been far from free-scoring at Euro 2024 so far, only netting penalties and own goals in their first five games at the tournament.

Yet Didier Deschamps’ side continue to progress thanks to their solid defensive record, with Arsenal’s William Saliba at the heart of that.

Before the tournament, there were doubts over whether Saliba would feature at all significantly for France.

As it’s turned out, he’s played every single minute as they’ve kept four clean sheets in five games – only conceding in the fifth thanks to a penalty given away by Dayot Upamecano.

(From L) France’s Theo Hernandez, William Saliba, Marcus Thuram, Olivier Giroud, and Jules Kounde celebrate after winning the UEFA Euro 2024 quarter-final football match between Portugal and France at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg on July 5, 2024. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

The latest of those four clean sheets was against Portugal on Friday night, as France played out a 120-minute stalemate to send their quarter-final to penalties.

Joao Felix missed his for Portugal, whilst France were faultless, scoring all five kicks to progress to a semi-final against Spain. After the game, the French media sang Saliba’s praises.

RMC Sport wrote that Saliba’s “progress has been constant” at the tournament, with the defender “always sure of himself” with “good positioning, interceptions, ball protection, one-touch recovery, and presence in the aerial game”.

FranceInfo suggested Saliba was “excellent, quite simply”, adding that he was “perfect in reading trajectories” and covered the pitch so effectively “that we wondered if Cristiano Ronaldo was really on the pitch”.

La Provence wrote that it was “another remarkable performance” from the Arsenal defender, with the only mark against his performance being the late yellow card he received for a foul on Francisco Conceicao.

GFFN claim Saliba was “outstanding again”, with his recent performances “the personification of calmness both on and off the ball”. They were particularly impressed by the defender’s timing in his duels with Ronaldo.

(From L) France’s William Saliba and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo fight for the ball during the UEFA Euro 2024 quarter-final football match between Portugal and France at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg on July 5, 2024. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)

“It wasn’t an easy match,” Saliba himself insisted afterwards. “We were up against one of the best teams in the tournament. We suffered, we also had chances, thanks to Mike (Maignan). We tried to defend together.

“We knew we couldn’t leave [Ronaldo] any crumbs, we’re happy to have kept a clean sheet today because Portugal have some big players up front.

“Since the start of the competition, we’ve been lucky to be solid, to manage to defend together, because it’s not just the defenders. We tell ourselves that if we keep a clean sheet, we have a 90% chance of winning the match. All we have to do is score goals, and it will come.

“From a personal point of view, I’m happy. Before the Euro, I didn’t expect to start matches straight away. The coach trusted me, the team too, for the moment I’m having a good Euro. It’s not over but we remain confident.”

There seems little doubt Saliba will keep his place for the semi-final, and if France can finally find their feet in an attacking sense, they could yet go all the way at this tournament.