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England and France are essentially playing for pride points in the World Cup third place match on Saturday, July 18.
Three Lions manager Thomas Tuchel raised eyebrows when he removed Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham from the starting lineup for the match. They each have six goals in the tournament and could have made a run at the Golden Boot award for most goals if they played.
But other players stepped up and put England up 4-0 over Kylian Mbappé, who is starting for France in what is a farewell for manager Didier Deschamps.
Declan Rice scored the first goal. He is a familiar name for soccer fans as he just won the Premier League with Arsenal and has seen a significant amount of playing time in the World Cup. But the second goal was netted by Ezri Konsa, whose name might not ring a bell as easily.
Ezri Konsa is a defender for England. The 28-year-old made his debut for the Three Lions in 2024. Konsa played in the European Championship that summer and appeared in three matches leading up to the final where England lost against Spain. He is playing in his first World Cup and his goal in the third-place match was his first in the tournament.
He also plays for Premier League club Aston Villa. He joined the side in 2019 after a stint with Brentford. The Villans won the Europa League final in May, beating German side Freiburg 3-0 for their first major trophy in 44 years.
In March, Konsa wrote a letter to Aston Villa fans on The Player's Tribune detailing the team's journey and thanking fans for their support.
"Believe in us, whether you are watching in the stadium, or at the pub, or in a living room on the other side of the world," he said.
Konsa is the son of a father who is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and a mother who is from Angola.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Ezri Konsa? Defender who scored World Cup goal for England
Continue reading...
England and France are essentially playing for pride points in the World Cup third place match on Saturday, July 18.
Three Lions manager Thomas Tuchel raised eyebrows when he removed Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham from the starting lineup for the match. They each have six goals in the tournament and could have made a run at the Golden Boot award for most goals if they played.
But other players stepped up and put England up 4-0 over Kylian Mbappé, who is starting for France in what is a farewell for manager Didier Deschamps.
Declan Rice scored the first goal. He is a familiar name for soccer fans as he just won the Premier League with Arsenal and has seen a significant amount of playing time in the World Cup. But the second goal was netted by Ezri Konsa, whose name might not ring a bell as easily.
Who is Ezri Konsa?
Ezri Konsa is a defender for England. The 28-year-old made his debut for the Three Lions in 2024. Konsa played in the European Championship that summer and appeared in three matches leading up to the final where England lost against Spain. He is playing in his first World Cup and his goal in the third-place match was his first in the tournament.
He also plays for Premier League club Aston Villa. He joined the side in 2019 after a stint with Brentford. The Villans won the Europa League final in May, beating German side Freiburg 3-0 for their first major trophy in 44 years.
In March, Konsa wrote a letter to Aston Villa fans on The Player's Tribune detailing the team's journey and thanking fans for their support.
"Believe in us, whether you are watching in the stadium, or at the pub, or in a living room on the other side of the world," he said.
Konsa is the son of a father who is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and a mother who is from Angola.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Ezri Konsa? Defender who scored World Cup goal for England
Continue reading...
