French midfielder Rayan Cherki spoke to the press following the defeat against Spain, which ended 2-0, in the match that took place in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup.
Eastern commented on the reasons for the defeat: "I don't know if we lacked solutions or desire, but Spain regained the ball more easily than us. If we had recovered more balls, we could have inflicted greater damage on them. In the locker room, the coach told us that there was still time and that we would get chances, but the second goal was crucial and we couldn't respond."
He added: "The disappointment is huge. We knew their main strength lies in controlling the pace of the game, and we should have done the same. The match was harder than we expected."
He concluded about his participation as a substitute: "I tried to help in the comeback, but Spain was better than us tactically, and in such matches, details make the difference."
With this result, Spain has qualified for the final, while the French national team will settle for a third-place match following another disappointing end to Didier Deschamps' tenure with the 'Les Bleus' against the Spanish team.
