France star snaps at reporter defending teammate after World Cup loss

Oscar Maung-Haley, Chiara Fiorillo Wed, July 15, 2026 at 3:14 PM UTC

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France star Rayan Cherki snapped at a reporter (Image: Brut FR)

Rayan Cherki has come to the defense of Lucas Digne after the midfielder was asked about his teammate conceding a penalty in France's 2-0 World Cup semifinal loss to Spain.

Spain produced what many consider the tournament's standout performance on Tuesday, with strikes from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro eliminating tournament favorites France.

The Spanish held a 1-0 halftime lead at Dallas Stadium, courtesy of Oyarzabal's penalty, which Digne conceded.

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While attempting to clear possession inside his own box, the France left back was caught off guard by Lamine Yamal's sudden approach, resulting in Digne accidentally kicking and felling the Barcelona forward. Oyarzabal converted the spot-kick, leaving France reeling.

Spain then extended their lead shortly before the hour mark in the second half, as the Spurs right back exploited space behind the French backline to beat Mike Maignan.

France lost to Spain on Tuesday (Image: Getty Images)

Despite France's efforts to mount a comeback in the final 30 minutes, they couldn't break down Unai Simon and Spain's defensive unit.

After the match, a journalist questioned Cherki about Digne's mental state, a query that visibly angered the Manchester City midfielder.

"What do you think I'm going to tell you? That he was crying, that we shoved his head in? No," Cherki responded when pressed about Digne conceding a penalty.

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Cherki and his team fell to Spain 2-0 (Image: Getty Images)

"Those are things that happen in the game, that's football."

The French midfielder added, "We have to bring him with us, and he has to be with us.

"We were all together. At halftime, we were all together. We knew the second goal was going to be crucial because in a match like this, at 1-1, it's incredibly difficult to defend. 2-0, it's a completely different story. Today, the disappointment is enormous."

Cherki, who entered the game in the 72nd minute, didn't shy away from accepting responsibility for France's loss, acknowledging they were their own worst enemy in Dallas after delivering their weakest showing of the summer tournament.

"It's a huge, huge disappointment... because today we lost to ourselves," Cherki said.

"We didn't lose to the referee, we didn't lose to Spain, we lost to ourselves. Here, you all know it, we all know we were a force to be reckoned with.

Cherki defended his teammate Digne (Image: Getty Images)

"The only team capable of eliminating us was ourselves. And today, that's what happened.

"We were beaten technically, we were beaten tactically, we were beaten in the duels. It's a very big disappointment today."

France will now meet the loser of Argentina and England in the third-place playoff match on Saturday, July 18.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”