Tchouameni reveals he played World Cup with ankle pain

Aurélien Tchouameni has admitted to playing much of the World Cup with ankle pain, revealing to France 24 the circumstances that hampered his performances in the French shirt.

“From the third or fourth match, and even a bit before, I had pain,” the Real Madrid midfielder confessed. Aware of the stakes, he chose to play anyway: “It’s a World Cup so you try to put everything in place to be as performant as possible. I took risks I perhaps wouldn’t have taken at another time, but I have no regrets.” He notably acknowledged that his performance against Spain — and against Rodri, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Olmo — was not up to his standard: “No, obviously, it wasn’t the real Aurélien Tchouameni.”

This statement comes at a delicate time for the Rouen native. Absent from France’s first squad under Zinédine Zidane, he was unable to defend his holding midfielder position, leaving the field open to Lucas da Cunha, whose accomplished performances immediately caught attention. Zidane justified Tchouameni’s absence by his early-season injury — nearly two months out, only 180 minutes in his legs — and the need to continue his preparation at Madrid.

At 25 at the time of the World Cup, Tchouameni nonetheless looks to the future with serenity. “At 26, it’s generally the moment when players start to understand the game better and better,” he stated, adding: “There’s a new coach who is there, doing very good work. Any player with ambition aspires to be in the France squad. If you’re performing, it will happen.”