Warren Zaïre-Emery (19 years old), Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, spoke to TF1 after France’s 3-1 victory against Azerbaijan. The young international emphasized the constant demands placed on Les Bleus, despite having already qualified, and his desire to reclaim a permanent place in the French national team.
Zaïre-Emery: “We got the job done.”
“What do you think of this victory?”
“We got the job done. It’s tough when you know you’ve already qualified, but we’re the French national team, we have to win every match, show our best. We have values to represent, and I think we did that well by winning this match.”
Zaïre-Emery: “To come here, you have to be good at your club, that’s what I want to do.”
You’re in good form…
“I feel good, confident. I came back to the U21s for that reason. Since then, things have been going well, I feel better mentally.” We need to keep going like this to get back here with the French national team. When you’re here, there’s always competition, no matter the position. I’m preparing myself in the best way possible. To come here, you have to be good at your club, and that’s what I want to do.
Zaire-Emery: “Every player dreams of winning the World Cup”
Are you already able to think about this World Cup?
The season is still long, it’s complicated. We have a good group, very good players, and we have to keep going in this direction and do even better. We have to do it at club level now. Every player dreams of winning the World Cup, some have already done it in this group. It would be a pleasure to be there, to help the team achieve this dream.
This Azerbaijan/France match had all the makings of a psychological trap: already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, Les Bleus could have played this match on autopilot. Zaire-Emery, however, completely rejects this idea. The 19-year-old PSG midfielder, returning from a stint with the U21s to regain match fitness and confidence, embodies this generation that never lets up.
His message is crystal clear: high standards are non-negotiable, whether with the national team or his club, where he knows his performances will determine his international future. This realism, combined with an already impressive maturity, fuels his ambition for the World Cup. Nothing is guaranteed, the competition is fierce, but his ambition shines through in every sentence: to maintain his level, to do even better, and to pursue the dream they all share in the locker room—to lift the World Cup.
