Lucas Digne alongside a circle inset of Didier Deschamps.
Credit: Imago
Samuel Fabre
Fri 14 November 2025 11:10, UK
Lucas Digne will feature in the 2026 World Cup with France following the 4-0 win over Ukraine on Thursday.
Kylian Mbappe’s brace and goals from Michael Olise and Hugo Ekitike earned France the routine win, but Aston Villa‘s 32-year-old left-back was excellent once again for his national team.
France manager Didier Deschamps has placed great faith in Digne, and he did not disappoint his national team manager at the Parc des Princes.
Digne has often been Aston Villa’s unsung hero, with his impact in both boxes proving to something very few players in his position can match.
On a night where Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa also won for England, the France international had an incredible influence on the match, with his passing proving itself to be faultless.
Lucas Digne receiving medical treatment at Aston Villa
Credit: Imago
French media rave over Lucas Digne display for France
Digne has created the most big chances of any full-back in the top flight, and it’s no shock that he wasn’t overlooked by Deschamps, with the media praising him for his efforts.
Eurosport.fr said: “In the first half, he was one of the few players to provide quality service to the attackers, Bradley Barcola in particular. Accurate with his passes, he generally held his own on the flank.”
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Foot Mercato added: “Competing with Theo Hernandez for the left-back position, the Aston Villa player performed admirably. Solid defensively, he primarily contributed to France’s attacking play by delivering numerous crosses and incisive passes.”
The 32-year-old registered a pass accuracy of 89 per cent against Ukraine, whilst completing 100 per cent of his long balls.
Stat Lucas Digne
Touches 106
Passes into final third 8
Pass accuracy 72/81 (89%)
Long ball accuracy 3/3 (100%)
Digne’s stats vs Ukraine
Digne struggled in the 2-0 loss to Liverpool, yet his performances against Tottenham, Man City, and Fulham have shown how important he is to Aston Villa’s chance creativity.
Digne’s experience at Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Everton has been invaluable to his success in B6, and it’s set him up to potentially enjoy a huge amount of success for France in what could be his last major tournament.
Whilst his quality on the ball is evident, he remained defensively solid against Ukraine, winning five ground duels and making seven recoveries.
With 55 caps already under his belt, Digne looks nailed on to be named in the squad in June, and it’s a testament to his ability that he is currently the first-choice left-back for France.
As anticipation slowly grows for the World Cup, the tournament could spell huge success for Digne.
Digne could join Emi Martinez in creating history for Aston Villa
After winning the World Cup in 2022, Emi Martinez became the first Aston Villa player to win football’s greatest prize while being at the club.
France are one of the outright favourites to win the tournament, boasting a huge wealth of attacking talent.
After winning the 2018 edition and narrowly losing out on penalties to Martinez’s Argentina four years later, this France squad is destined to go far in the tournament.
Digne could join Martinez on an incredibly illustrious list, and it would mark another sign of Villa’s growing reputation in world football if they were to have another World Cup winner.
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