World Cup 2026: Tchouaméni owns his decision to play injured against Spain

Speaking on The Bridge, a show broadcast on YouTube, Aurélien Tchouaméni revisited the night of July 14: a 2-0 defeat against Spain in the World Cup semi-final at Dallas Stadium, at the end of a run of six wins from six. “What was hard was that we fell from high, because we had performed so well up until the semis that when you lose, you tell yourself the dream is over,” said the Real Madrid midfielder, as quoted by So Foot.

“They outclassed us”

France’s midfield was overrun. “If you look closely, they dominated us like at Euro 2024. You feel like you’re there, but they show you their game plan is clear… You think you’re close, but if you look, they outclassed us,” Tchouaméni analysed. Against Rodri and Fabián Ruiz, he “didn’t really exist”, RMC Sport summarised. “Even individually, there were plenty of us – me first – who didn’t play at our best level. And at that level, you pay for it straight away.”

Starting without being fully fit, eyes open

Back from injury, Tchouaméni was not fully recovered. Didier Deschamps started him anyway, judging his player fit enough to return to competition, Foot Mercato reported. The midfielder owns the gamble: “As an athlete, what people need to understand is that adrenaline can do a lot of things. When you get injured, you talk with the medical staff and the goal is to come back for the semi, everyone dreams of playing a World Cup semi-final.”

He knew the deal before kick-off: “You win, everything goes well, very well, ‘you did well to come back.’ You lose, ‘yeah why did you come back, we lost because of you’… One day it goes your way, the next it doesn’t and you become the scapegoat… No, that’s not how it works.”

He is not hunting for excuses or culprits: “Afterwards, the truth of the pitch is the truth of the pitch. There are plenty of people who have played matches while diminished. … It’s part of football.”