Following the four matches played by the French team under Zinedine Zidane's leadership, attention is turning to how the players have performed. While all observers agree that Esteban Lepaul missed his chance to shine, Lucas Da Cunha and Eduardo Camavinga made notable contributions in midfield, and Ousmane Dembélé faced a significant setback, opinions remain divided on certain aspects of the team's performance, particularly in the flanks. This is especially true for Rayan Cherki. Placed in a relay role in midfield, the former Lyon player has not fully impressed despite a strong debut alongside Désiré Doué and Michael Olise during the match against Belgium. While some believe Cherki has the best profile to complement Da Cunha and Camavinga in midfield, Jérôme Rothen has expressed more caution. "But stop with Cherki! Do you get the impression he is Mbappé, Dembélé or Olise," he said to RMC. "I would be happy for him to be the showoff in the press conference after the match analysis... I don't have a fixation on Cherki!" Rothen continued his critique, saying, "I listened to him say, 'I spoke with Bettoni, I kept a little, Let me come in, you will see what you will see...' So in the first three matches, you laughed at our faces? And then you waited until the last 20 minutes yesterday to bring out the genius Cherki." He added, "Excuse me, there was some good and some less, he did not convince completely to be an undisputed starter." These criticisms were not well received by Bilel Ghazi, a former journalist at L'Equipe and close to both Rayan Cherki and Kylian Mbappé. In a message on X, he wrote, "To show off? That's your DNA! For the rest, a shameful way to distort statements to feed what is precisely defined as an unhealthy fixation! On your platform, your recurring caricatural posture on the subject is highlighted. For what motivation?" He continued, "You are the only guy in a media who works to criticize a football actor for not being a lukewarm water tap. While distorting what he tried to express with freshness and transparency. Because you don't understand it or to harm?"