Rayan Cherki frustrated but backed in France camp | OneFootball

Rayan Cherki’s limited minutes have not stopped him becoming a focus for France, with a brief post-match flashpoint after the 3-0 win over Sweden swiftly calmed inside the camp.

According to L'Équipe, footage of him appearing to ignore Didier Deschamps at full time reflected frustration with himself, and staff know he has been dealing with a heavy off-field issue since late last week. After coming on, he also misjudged a promising opening in the 85th minute.

Before the tournament he drew headlines with a light-hearted TV line that France would not go to be favourites, they would go to crush everyone. He had just impressed in the first warm-up against Ivory Coast, a 2-1 defeat on 4 June, raising hopes he could unlock tight games.

Instead, France have largely settled matches early, leaving the Manchester City playmaker to enter once contests are decided. He has 55 minutes across four matches, a scenario that blunts his bursts.

At 22, with 11 caps and two goals, he accepts he is short of a starter’s status. Close team-mates Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Marcus Thuram tell him his moment could come when a second half turns sticky, perhaps as soon as Saturday against Paraguay. He quickly brightened up back in the dressing room on Tuesday and trained as normal on Wednesday.

Source: L'Équipe