Cherki shines in France's defeat to Ivory Coast with goal and impressive first half

France suffered a defeat in a warm-up match against Ivory Coast (1-2) on Thursday evening at La Beaujoire in Nantes, but Rayan Cherki’s first-half performance drew widespread attention. The former Lyon player opened the scoring with a solo effort in the Ivorian penalty area and controlled the game with remarkable technical ease.

Didier Deschamps acknowledged his team’s difficulties while praising their positive intentions early in the match. “It’s a defeat, that’s never pleasant, even if we did some good things especially in the first half,” the manager said. “It was more difficult in the second. The numerous substitutions didn’t help; there were fewer automatic patterns than with the players who started.” The absence of William Saliba in defence also weighed on the solidity of France’s backline.

Cherki himself downplayed his individual performance while expressing collective ambitions for the World Cup. “On a personal level, it’s a normal performance, just getting into rhythm,” he said, before adding: “We won’t go to the World Cup as favourites, we’ll go to crush everyone.”

Consultant Daniel Riolo was among the most enthusiastic about the number 10. “We saw a Cherki masterclass but we need to see what level we’ll give him the keys to. He took the keys, he touched the ball constantly, we looked for him, he controlled the game and he showed his technical qualities of what we call the little genius of the 10,” he analysed. Riolo went further with a historical comparison: “For 20-25 years, we hadn’t had a player like that to lead France’s game. That wasn’t the Deschamps tradition. Since Zidane, who did you give the keys to? Here, you put him at 10 and all the balls went through him. He dared to do things and accepted missing some. You have to accept that from a player like him.”

This first World Cup 2026 warm-up match therefore leaves a mixed picture for France: defensive gaps and a disappointing second half, but the confirmed emergence of Cherki as a potential playmaker for the generation to come.