“Champions curse is happening again”, “Not watching” – Fans fume as France drop ‘flawless’ performer to the bench for FIFA World Cup game against Denmark

Fans are not happy with Didier Deschamps' decision to leave center-back Ibrahima Konate on the bench for France's FIFA World Cup clash against Denmark on Saturday (26 November).

Konate has been a rock in the heart of the defense for Liverpool since he returned from a long-term injury. He also performed impressively for Les Blues in their FIFA World Cup opener on 22 November, where they beat Australia 4-1.

La 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙤' tricolore pour affronter le Danemark 👊
Coup d'envoi à 17h sur @TF1 ⌚️

🇫🇷🇩🇰 | #FRADAN | #FiersdetreBleus https://t.co/1D2Np23oAm

However, Deschamps has opted to keep the centre-back on the bench for the clash against Denmark, which has left fans fuming. Taking to Twitter, they questioned the manager's decision to keep the defender on the bench for such an important game.

Here are some of the reactions:

🇫🇷 France XI: Lloris; Koundé, Varane, Upamecano, Theo Hernández; Tchouaméni, Rabiot; Dembélé, Griezmann, Mbappé; Giroud.

🇩🇰 Denmark XI: Schmeichel; Andersen, Nelsson, Christensen; Kristensen, Hojbjerg, Eriksen, Maehle; Lindstrom, Cornelius, Damsgaard.

@TheEuropeanLad Konate should be starting

@TheEuropeanLad Konate benched? https://t.co/fRDOBseHvM

@TheEuropeanLad Konate https://t.co/B5T0jL7mtv

@TheEuropeanLad No Konate not watching

Konate had a flawless performance last game and he drops him 😐 hope France loose twitter.com/theeuropeanlad…

How are they benching Konaté ffs twitter.com/theeuropeanlad…

No Konate?? France are losing. twitter.com/theeuropeanlad… https://t.co/mbskFqSRwI

No konate? The champions curse is happening again twitter.com/TheEuropeanLad…

France prepare to face Denmark in their next FIFA World Cup clash

While they are viewed as strong contenders to win the global trophy as defending champions, Les Blues have had a rather concerning run of form in recent months. They succumbed to a 2-0 loss to Denmark in September after losing against Croatia in June.

However, Deschamps' men started off the defense of their World Cup trophy brilliantly with a 4-1 win over Australia. Another consecutive win will see them qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament. However, they will need to be wary of the Danish Dynamite.

Kasper Hjulmand's men might be seen as the underdogs in this scenario but they are capable of putting up a strong effort and snatching all three points. Denmark started their campaign in Qatar with a draw against Tunisia and will be looking to pick up three points with a strong win against France.

The Danes are strong competitors who have only gone out of the group stage during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Les Blues will continue to rue Karim Benzema's absence, with the Ballon d'Or winner out of the squad due to injury. However, France possesses serious attacking threats in the form of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud.