Warren Zaire-Emery on his France demotion, loss of confidence at PSG, and World Cup ambitions | OneFootball

When Warren Zaire-Emery (19) made his France debut back in November 2023, it felt as though he had the world at his feet. The likes of Luis Enrique and Thierry Henry were fawning over him, and the likes of Manchester City were circling, not that Paris Saint-Germain were ever considering letting one of their most promising academy prospects in recent decades leave.

‘I’m restricting myself’ – Zaire-Emery

However, the past 12 months have been significantly more difficult for Zaire-Emery, who now finds himself in a backup role at PSG. His demotion has now seen him lose confidence and now his place in the France squad.

“I’m holding myself back,” said Zaire-Emery on Tuesday. “I know that I have the ability. Confidence is playing a bit of a part. It is up to me, in my mind, to go and free myself, to play how I know, to have that carelessness from when I was young. It will come back naturally.”

Reflecting on when he began to lose his confidence, he noted an injury at the start of 2025 that played a role. “After the injury, the manager (Luis Enrique) rotated the team, and I wouldn’t say that it affected it, but suddenly I was playing left,” said the PSG midfielder.

Zaire-Emery targets World Cup

Whilst Zaire-Emery won’t play with Les Bleus, he will play with Les Bleuets. Zaire-Emery is looking at what is effectively a demotion with a positive mindset. “Honestly, I’m taking it well. The objective isn’t to stay here too long. I want to gain confidence and get back to the first team as quickly as possible,” he said.

His manager at U21 level, Gérald Baticle, also added that he hopes the PSG midfielder can quickly make the step back up to the senior side. With Les Bleuets, he hopes to regain confidence and convert that into an uptick in form at PSG, in what is an important year.

“There is the World Cup this summer. It is an objective. It is the biggest competition in the world,” said the midfielder. At the end of 2023, there was hardly any doubt that Zaire-Emery would be a part of Didier Deschamps’ plans for the 2026 World Cup, however, he is now in a position of having to re-earn his place.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle