Kudos to Arsenal defender William Saliba for telling it like it is. The sports world has long had plenty enough of “take it one game at a time,” “give 110 percent,” “I am just excited to be here” and other assorted meaningless platitudes.
Saliba, currently with defending champions France at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, knows exactly who the favorites in the field are- Brazil.
He gets it- the best path forward, for Les Bleus to repeat, lies in seeing the other major contenders for the cup get bounced out.
“He’s a top player and he has done a lot of good things at Arsenal this year,” Saliba said at a Friday news conference in regard to his Gunners teammate, Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus.
“I hope he has a great performance [at the World Cup] but as of today, I hope they go out as soon as possible.”
France, who ended the “champions curse” (first defending champion to advance beyond the group stages since 1998), will take on Poland on Sunday.
Brazil are a very polarizing side even to neutrals, due to their #1 FIFA ranking and their desire to dance on the pitch (which many see as showboating).
William Saliba is far from the only one who wants to see them crash out of the tourney early. However, the way the bracket is set up, Brazil and France could not face each other until the final.
It will be interesting to see what happens if/when Jesus responds to these remarks.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow the website on Instagram.