France boss Didier Deschamps has hailed N'Golo Kante as "a little phenomenon", but admits that the Chelsea midfielder endured a "horrible" World Cup final.
Kante was one of Les Bleus' key men during their run to the showpiece match at the Luzhniki Stadium last weekend, being used in every minute of their first six games.
The 27-year-old reserved arguably his only bad display for the final, though, with Deschamps opting to take off the defensive midfielder early in the second half.
Speaking a week on from France's 4-2 win against Croatia in the Russian capital, Deschamps told reporters: "I do not know what happened with N'Golo in the final. It was horrible for him.
"N'Golo is a real ray of sunshine, a true joy. When he came off, I asked him if he was OK. His quiet reply was: 'No, no, do not worry - I am fine, coach.' Everybody loves N'Golo - he is a little phenomenon."
Kante is currently on holiday before linking up with his Chelsea teammates in early August.
Daniel Lewis
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