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

Didier Deschamps is bidding to become only the second man to manage two World Cup winning teams (Picture: Getty)

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.

England's hero (Picture:Getty)

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.

Rayan Cherki has made four substitute appearances at the World Cup (Picture: Getty)

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.

Cherki appeared to snub his manager.

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.

Home

divider

Sport

Football

Related topics

Didier Deschamps

Manchester City FC

Wayne Rooney says England should have been on the phone to retired star after DR Congo win

Channel: Football

4 hours ago

By

Tom Olver

Harry Kane fears Mexico will have huge unfair advantage against England

1 hour ago

James Goldman