Didier Deschamps vs Rayan Cherki! France boss reacts to another World Cup clash - with departing boss refusing to ‘settle scores’ with frustrated Man City star

In what proved to be a chaotic finale to his 14-year reign as France head coach, Deschamps watched his side fall to a rampant England in a ten-goal thriller. The Three Lions raced into a four-goal lead by half-time, capitalising on a sluggish and disjointed French performance. Although Les Bleus mounted a spirited second-half fightback through goals from Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola, Bukayo Saka's hat-trick and a late Jude Bellingham solo effort ensured a decisive 6-4 victory for England.

The match was marred by a visible lack of discipline within the French ranks, particularly during the first-half hydration break. Deschamps, visibly animated by his team's poor showing, attempted to relay tactical instructions to Cherki on the touchline. However, the 22-year-old midfielder, making his first start of the tournament, reacted with open defiance.

Addressing the incident in his final post-match press conference, Deschamps opted for a diplomatic stance despite the clear disrespect shown on the pitch.

"I’m not going to settle scores today," the 57-year-old said when questioned about the midfielder's attitude. "The players know perfectly well. I’m not going to point fingers.

"However, I always tell them... they needed time to process it but it was my mistake, I should have made different choices from the start of the match, you can say that, and perhaps things would have gone better.

"Everyone is judged on their performance. Obviously, some players could have done better. I wish them all the best."

This latest bust-up was far from an isolated event during the tournament in North America. Tensions between the pair had heightened much earlier in the competition. During France’s victory over Sweden in the last-32, the Manchester City man appeared to ignore his manager as he was introduced as a late substitute.

Cherki’s frustration likely stems from a lack of consistent game time throughout the World Cup. Despite being one of the most talented playmakers in the Premier League, he spent the majority of the tournament as a fringe player while Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola were preferred in the attacking roles.

The friction within the camp was not limited to the manager and Cherki, as veteran midfielder Adrien Rabiot launched a scathing assessment of the team's first-half display. Rabiot did not hold back when discussing the attitude of his teammates during the opening 45 minutes of the bronze-medal match. "We started the first half in a shameful way," Rabiot said. "I saw behaviour from some players that I’d never seen before. It’s disappointing, it was the last match to put on a good show.

"There’s a lot of disappointment [after the defeat to Spain], but there was work to be done, we can’t just be content with sloppy play. In the first half, the behaviour was quite unacceptable."