France World Cup star annoyed with Didier Deschamps and ‘suffering sleepless nights’

France’s hitherto flawless World Cup campaign may well be about to hit its first stumbling block with one of their star names growing frustrated with his role in Didier Deschamps’ squad.

Les Bleus have underlined their status as tournament favourites with a series of devastating attacking displays, the latest of which came in their 3-0 win over Sweden in the first knockout round earlier this week.

A star-studded forward line, spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe and complemented by the playmaking skills of Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise has ripped opposition to shreds thus far.

With Paris Saint-Germain stars Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola waiting in the wings, Deschamps is hardly short of firepower on the bench either but being spoilt for choice comes with consequences.

Given his enviable arsenal, Deschamps has found only limited use for a player who lit up the Premier League last season in Rayan Cherki.

The Manchester City playmaker grew in stature at the Etihad Stadium as his maiden campaign in England wore on and flourished under Pep Guardiola following a difficult start after his move from Lyon.

The 22-year-old has come on as substitute in each of France’s four games but was only given five minutes against Sweden on Tuesday night and was seen appearing to snub Deschamps after the final whistle as France celebrated their victory.

According to L’Equipe, Cherki has become disenchanted with Deschamps, who missed France’s last group game against Norway following the death of his mother.

Cherki is said to be so dismayed that he is even suffering from sleepless nights, leading to his high-profile teammates rallying around him and maintaining that his chance could yet come with potentially as many as four games between the round of the last 16 and the final later this month.

L’Equipe, meanwhile, adds that Cherki’s representatives claim he did not mean to disrespect Deschamps in the aftermath of the win against Graham Potter’s side and his apparent petulant reaction was more a reflection at his own disappointment with himself and contribution.

Despite the Cherki conundrum, Gary Neville cannot see anyone stopping France in their tracks and is confident they have a side that will help Deschamps become only the second man to manage to men’s World Cup winning teams.

Rayan Cherki a complètement ignoré Didier Deschamps après le match contre la Suède 😳 pic.twitter.com/bNslVVdFKV

— Vibes Foot (@VibesFoot) July 1, 2026

‘What we saw from France was precision and devastation,’ former England full-back Gary Neville told ITV Sport.

‘That [front] four that started the game [Mbappe, Dembele, Olise and Barcola] – they will cause nightmares for every single defender in the tournament and I don’t know how they stop that to be fair.

‘They are a level above. Brazil won in the last minute, Germany and the Netherlands have gone out. France are showing everyone else in this round how to do it.

‘The rest are looking at them thinking: ‘That’s the level we have got to get to’.’

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