French team: Rayan Cherki hit hard
Launched into the French team just a year ago, Rayan Cherki honored this evening, against the Ivory Coast, his seventh selection in blue. On June 5, 2025, the native of Lyon brought a little freshness against Spain (4-5), with a goal and an assist for his first cap. A year later, almost to the day, the former OL resident had a good card to play in the more offensive plan decided by Didier Deschamps since last March.
One of the men of the match
Positioned as number 10 in the 4-2-3-1 aligned by the coach, the Manchester City player sometimes swapped with Michael Olise on the side, but it was in the center that the number 24 of the Blues was valuable. His technique served him against a very compact Ivorian block in the first period, in particular to launch Theo Hernandez, Marcus Thuram, Michael Olise or Jules Koundé. Cherki was also involved in a large number of interesting actions (13th, 21st), before having several goal balls (31st, 32nd, 45th).
The reward finally came just before half-time when he took advantage of a delivery from Ibrahima Konaté to erase Franck Kessié with a double contact and beat Yahia Fofana with a cross shot (45th). In the second period, the Lyonnais was one of the few offensive players left on the Beaujoire pitch by Deschamps. Result: with a French team equipped with players with less impactful profiles, the face of the Blues was significantly less sufficient and Cherki was the most sought-after player. At the end of the match, despite the defeat (1-2), Cherki was one of the rare satisfactions for Didier Deschamps.
Cherki loves playing with Olise
“Yes, that’s a good thing. Regarding the technical quality of these two players, there are no concerns, the fact that they can swap makes them less forward-thinking for the opponent”confided the coach to the microphone of TF1followed by the main person concerned. “It’s a first prep match for me, for us. On a personal level, it’s a normal service. It’s just a matter of getting warmed up. We ate at Clairefontaine, we ate all season, there is a little fatigue. The goal is to be ready on June 16. The first 45 minutes are of a very high level. We knew how to keep the ball, be patient and try. Second, it’s more complicated. There is a lot of change. It also allows you to set off a little alarm bell.”he declared, before paying tribute to Michael Olise.
“Playing with Michael… We understand each other without speaking. He knows that I can go right, left. When I see him enter the middle, I don’t want to step on his toes. It’s an understanding of the game that Michael and I have, it’s wonderful to play together. » If he does not yet know whether or not he will start next June 16 against Senegal, Rayan Cherki, in any case, scored points this Thursday evening. His ability to play both in the center and on one side in this 4-2-3-1 and his good understanding with the other technical leaders could weigh heavily for this player that Pep Guardiola loved so much at Manchester City.
