France midfielder Rayan Cherki defended teammate Lucas Digne after Les Bleus’ 2-0 defeat to Spain in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting the left-back should not shoulder the blame for the team’s elimination.
France’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final ended in Dallas after Spain capitalised on Digne’s early foul on Lamine Yamal, which led to Mikel Oyarzabal converting the opening penalty before Pedro Porro sealed victory in the second half.
After the match, Cherki reacted angrily when asked about Digne’s mood in the dressing room following his costly mistake.
“What do you think I’m going to tell you? That he was crying, that we shoved his head in? No,” Cherki said.
“These things happen in the game, it’s football.
“We have to take him with us, and he has to be with us.
“We were all together. At halftime, we were all together.”
Cherki admitted Spain’s second goal proved decisive in ending France’s hopes of a comeback.
“We knew the second goal was going to be crucial because in a match like this, at 1-1, it’s incredibly difficult to defend. 2-0, it’s a completely different story.
“Today, the disappointment is enormous,” he said.
The Manchester City midfielder also appeared frustrated when asked whether he would have preferred to be introduced earlier than the 72nd minute.
“What do you think?” he replied before ending the exchange.
Despite defending Digne, Cherki delivered a blunt assessment of France’s overall display, insisting the team was responsible for its own downfall.
“It’s a huge, huge disappointment… because today we lost to ourselves,” he said.
“We didn’t lose to the referee, we didn’t lose to Spain, we lost to ourselves.”
He added: “Here, you all know it, we all know we were a force to be reckoned with.
“The only team capable of eliminating us was ourselves.
“And today, that’s what happened.
“We were beaten technically, we were beaten tactically, we were beaten in the duels.
“It’s a very big disappointment today.”
France will now face the loser of the second semi-final between England and Argentina in Saturday’s third-place play-off as Didier Deschamps’ side looks to finish the tournament on a positive note.
