Steelers Afternoon Drive: Ireland Schedule Hurting Steelers?
Welcome to the Steelers Afternoon Drive, our new daily podcast featuring all the latest Steelers news and analysis.
Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, we discuss if the team's trip to Ireland in Week 4 has a negative impact on the rest of the schedule due to the Bye week placement. How will the team prepare for the trip? What uniforms will the Steelers breakout when they unveil a throwback uniform and helmet against the Green Bay Packers. What do we make of the increasing price for consumers of the league due to having to have all the streaming services? What's the answer? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss all this and more!
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Afternoon Drive: Ireland Schedule Hurting Steelers?
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'There was a turning point in January, when the coach (Luis Enrique) started showing more faith in him. The appearances he made off the bench against us, and the fact he scored the last penalty (in the shootout at Anfield) gave him an exceptional confidence boost. 'Since then, he's just been the player he is, because he has huge qualities. He has great natural physical qualities and he's already very mature in terms of his football. Plus, he has technical proficiency that is way above average. And he has a healthy lifestyle. I tend to observe people and I notice if people pay attention to what they eat or if they do a lot of gym work. Advertisement 'But scoring two goals and providing an assist in a Champions League final… I don't think he'll have slept much since!' Doue is one of several young attacking players France coach Didier Deschamps has brought into his squad as he builds towards next year's World Cup. 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'There's now lots of competition for those positions, and that's good. Because when there's competition, no one can afford to ease up.' First capped at senior level in June 2022, Konate spent the whole of last summer's European Championship on the bench before starting all but one of the autumn's Nations League group games, captaining France to a 3-1 win over Italy at San Siro in Milan. He then lost his place to Dayot Upamecano after a shaky first-half display in the first leg of that quarter-final away to Croatia, who won the game 2-0. With both Upamecano and William Saliba absent through injury, Konate is expected to start tonight in the German city of Stuttgart, when France will seek to avenge last summer's 2-1 loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 semi-finals. Deschamps is entering the final 12 months of his glittering France tenure. The 56-year-old announced in January that he will step down after next year's World Cup following 14 years at the helm, and Konate is determined to give his coach the best possible send-off. Advertisement 'Fourteen years with the national team is exceptional,' he says. 'Most of the players who are here have grown up with Deschamps at the head of the France team. In 2012 (when Deschamps was appointed), I was 13. So I hadn't even joined an academy. I was living in the 11th (arrondissement; a district of northeastern Paris) and playing (youth football) for Paris FC. And today he's my coach in the France national team! 'We know all good things come to an end, but his record is magnificent. The best way to thank him and to say goodbye would be to make sure we finish on a good note.' Whether it be repaying Deschamps with a fitting farewell in the United States next summer or going a step further under Slot with Liverpool, Konate is setting himself up for a big 2026.
