As part of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the French national team played Ukraine at the Parc des Princes on Thursday and secured a 4-0 victory, thus qualifying for the next round. Three Paris Saint-Germain players were involved in the match. Five players from Paris Saint-Germain were in the squad: Lucas Chevalier, Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, and Bradley Barcola for France, and Ilya Zabarnyi for Ukraine. Here are the French players’ player ratings from the press.
Le Parisien:
Mbappé (8)
Barcola (5.5) – Cherki (4.5) – Olise (7.5)
Kanté (6) – Koné (5.5)
Digne (6) – Upamecano (5) – Saliba (6) – Koundé (5)
Maignan (5)
L’Equipe:
Mbappé (8)
Barcola (6) – Cherki (4) – Olise (7)
Kanté (6) – Koné (4)
Digne (5) – Upamecano (6) – Saliba (6) – Koundé (4)
Maignan (5)
These are fairly logical ratings, especially considering Mbappé scored twice and provided an assist. We could have expected him to be at his best, even if the goals weren’t particularly impressive, and they redeemed the performance after a disappointing first half for everyone. It’s important to be decisive, obviously.
The offensive disappointment stems mainly from Cherki, who was highly anticipated in this playmaker role for Les Bleus. Perhaps he also needs a bit of adjustment. We also see that Koné and Koundé haven’t necessarily convinced, but the media doesn’t entirely agree. Everyone doesn’t necessarily judge with the same expectations.
Finally, we note that the scoreline is perhaps a little flattering considering the performance, or perhaps the expectations are too high for this team, which won 4-0 with players mostly rated between 5 and 6.
