French defender Ibrahima Konaté, who recently transferred to Spanish club Real Madrid, responded to comments by Barcelona player Lamine Yamal, who said that France should be afraid of facing Spain, ahead of the highly anticipated match between the two teams in the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday evening.

Yamal had said: 'France should fear us; we have succeeded in eliminating them twice.'

Konaté responded to journalists on Saturday, saying: 'Let him say what he wants. We are not afraid, and we should not fear anyone. Rather, we must be humble and not fall into the trap, especially at this crucial stage of the tournament.'

He added: 'Our focus is on the match, not on the hype surrounding it. Honestly, we pay no attention to what is being said; we just try to prepare as best as possible, and in the end, we will see who wins.'

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Regarding the key threats posed by the Spanish team, Konaté explained: 'We are not focusing only on stopping Yamal; Spain is an exceptional team with a group of individual talents, so we are not focusing on just one player, because the entire team can be dangerous.'

The French defender highlighted the collective performance of Spain across all lines, saying: 'Their attacking style is unique and truly exceptional.'

He concluded his remarks by saying: 'But we need a collective effort across all our lines, including goalkeeper Maignan, because what Spain offers is exceptional and amazing.'

Spain previously defeated France 2-1 in the semifinals of the European Championship 'Euro 2024' in Germany, before later winning the title against England.

The Spanish team repeated its superiority by winning 5-4 against France in the semifinals of the UEFA Nations League, but ultimately lost the title to Portugal on penalties.

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