Rayan Cherki called up for the first time to the French national team, Didier Deschamps faces a defensive disaster

He is the main attraction of the expanded list of 25 players called up by Didier Deschamps for the "Final Four" of the Nations League: Lyon striker Rayan Cherki has been called up for the first time to the French national team to face Spain on June 5 in Stuttgart in the semi-finals, the coach announced on Wednesday, May 21. The same group will then play the final or the match for third place in the European competition, against Germany or Portugal, on June 8, in Munich or Stuttgart respectively.

Didier Deschamps highlighted the 21-year-old U21 international's impressive performances with Olympique Lyonnais (OL), "where he was much more decisive, through his goals and assists." Named in the Ligue 1 team of the year at the UNFP Trophies, this pure product of the Lyon team has been involved in 32 OL goals this season – 12 goals and 20 assists in 44 matches, all competitions combined.

Capable of rare technical moves, the Lyon playmaker, who could soon change clubs, has finally managed to be consistent and decisive in his performances this season, after having long been perceived as a player capable of flashes of brilliance, only intermittently. As if he had reached a form of maturity.

While he was also eligible for the Algerian and Italian national teams, his arrival at Les Bleus puts an end to the uncertainty surrounding his international career. Didier Deschamps denied calling him up for this reason: "I take a player when I think it's the right time and when I need him," he said. His promotion to the senior team, however, will deprive him of the Euro Under-21s (June 11-June 28 in Slovakia) with Les Bleuets, of which he had been a key player until then, the coach said.

Beyond this individual case, the coach must, however, do without almost all of his usual defense, with the absences of three key players, all of whom have physical concerns: Dayot Upamecano (left knee), William Saliba (muscle injury) and Jules Koundé (hamstring). These absences are compensated by the selections of players less accustomed to playing for France (Loïc Badé, Malo Gusto and Clément Lenglet) or called up for the first time by Didier Deschamps (Pierre Kalulu). Also worth noting: the return of Lucas Hernandez, who returned to competition with PSG in December 2024 after a ruptured cruciate ligament in his left knee. The coach is praying that he does not have another absence to cover: "There are still important matches to play, I hope there will be no damage," he said.

This defensive massacre does not bode well for the duel against Spain, who eliminated France in the semi-finals of Euro 2024. "We know that we are facing one of the best, if not the best team at international level," said the coach, emphasizing the difficulty of blocking FC Barcelona prodigy Lamine Lamal, who "does extraordinary things." "I have not seen a team that has really found the solution" to stop him, he noted, suggesting that the Blues could be tempted to play on the counterattack against the Spanish, given their "above-average ability to control the ball." "Few teams have been able to compete in this area..." , he insisted.

Although the coach will also be unable to count on Eduardo Camavinga in midfield, who is out due to injury (hamstring), he will have several high-level attacking players at his disposal, with Kylian Mbappé, Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Randal Kolo Muani, Michael Olise and Marcus Thuram.

Regarding the attacking play, the coach did not want to specify how he plans to combine Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, who both play in the centre for their respective clubs, Real Madrid and PSG. "I am always thinking about how to have the most dangerous attacking play," said Deschamps.

The preparation conditions for the match against Spain are not optimal for the French national team coach, who must deal with his players' very busy schedule. The Nations League Final Four takes place shortly after the Champions League final on May 31 in Munich and before the Club World Cup in the United States, from June 14 to July 13. Didier Deschamps must face the discontent of the clubs, who do not all want to release their players at the start of the training camp planned for Clairefontaine (Yvelines), starting Friday, May 30.

While the coach wants six days to prepare for the match against Spain, some clubs – particularly Real Madrid – do not want to release their players before Monday, June 2, the official start of the international break, according to FIFA regulations. "If some clubs decide to release their players on June 2, there is nothing I can do about it," he stressed regretfully.