Defence criticised, Cherki withdrawn as France lose 4-6 to England | OneFootball

Didier Deschamps' reign ended on Saturday as France lost 4-6 to England in the 2026 World Cup third-place play-off. According to L'Équipe, readers' ratings heavily criticised the back line, while the forwards escaped the harshest verdicts.

France trailed 4-0 at half-time, briefly threatened a comeback, but defensive frailty proved decisive.

Mike Maignan averaged 3.6. Full-backs Théo Hernandez at 2.3 and Malo Gusto at 2.5 posted two of the lowest scores, and Ibrahima Konaté also struggled at 2.3. Maxence Lacroix was the only defender to emerge slightly better at 3.7.

Adrien Rabiot 4.8 and Warren Zaïre-Emery 4.5 impressed in patches, especially after the break. Playmaker Rayan Cherki was marked down at 2.5 and was withdrawn at half-time, as were Konaté, Désiré Doué and Hernandez.

Doué's 3.1 was the least popular attacking display. Michael Olise responded to a poor semi-final with 4.8 and set a single-edition World Cup assists record with 7. Kylian Mbappé topped the starters at 6.4 and became the tournament's all-time leading scorer.

Most substitutes earned solid marks in difficult circumstances, though Lucas Digne's 4.7 underwhelmed. Dayot Upamecano was rated 7, while Bradley Barcola 6.2 and Ousmane Dembélé 5.6 both found the net and lifted France late on.

Source: L'Équipe