William Saliba was an unused substitute in the 2022 World Cup final as Argentina pipped France to the trophy.
In a match that'll go down as an all-time classic, Les Bleus recovered from being two goals behind thanks to a Kylian Mbappe brace to force extra-time, before Lionel Messi netted his second goal of the game in the 108th minute.
But Mbappe tucked home a penalty to become the first player to net a World Cup final hat-trick since Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966, and force a shootout.
Former Gunner Emiliano Martinez proved to be the hero, saving Kingsley Coman's attempt before Aurelien Tchouameni struck his effort wide, leaving Gonzalo Montiel to fire Argentina to their first triumph since 1986.
William watched on from the bench, and collected his runners-up medal during the post-match presentations, having made a single appearance at the tournament during France's group-stage game against Tunisia.
That was his eighth cap for his country since making his full debut back in March.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
