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French defender Ibrahima Konaté stated this Friday that the defeat against Spain in the semifinals is still difficult to digest, and admitted that what hurts them the most is "not having been able to do anything" in the match.
"It is very difficult to digest. It is something I think we have thought about every day since that defeat (...) but it hurts not to have been able to do anything against this Spain team," he said in the press conference ahead of the bronze medal match against England.
"I don't know why people got it into their heads that we were absolutely going to win the World Cup," he added, denying that Spain has France's number after winning their third consecutive head-to-head matchup.
However, the new Real Madrid center-back pointed out that the defeat in the final of the 2022 Qatar World Cup was much more painful due to the circumstances.
That final was lost precisely against Argentina, Spain's opponent in Sunday's final.
France and England, both eliminated in the semifinals, will compete this Saturday in Miami for third place in the World Cup.
Konaté admitted to the press that "nobody wants to play this match," but added that they have a duty to represent France until the end of the tournament.
"There are so many players who would have liked to be here and play this match. I'm not saying it's easy, it's clearly hard," he concluded.
[Publicidad]