Credit: Imago / TFI Direct

Harri Burton

Mon 30 March 2026 9:30, UK

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Lucas Digne combined with several incredible stars as the Aston Villa man featured in France’s 3-1 win over Colombia.

Man City’s Rayan Cherki, PSG duo Desire Doue and Warren Zaire-Emery, and N’Golo Kante all started as Didier Deschamps’ side prepared in style for the 2026 World Cup on Sunday, 29 March.

Digne has been a regular back at Villa Park this season, battling with Ian Maatsen for the left-back spot under Unai Emery, and the manager will be impressed by his performance on international duty.

Villa face Bologna in the Europa League quarter-finals once the break is over, and the 32-year-old full-back will be hoping to play a key role in helping the Villans through to the next round this season.

Lucas Digne congratulates PSG superstar after France win

Understandably, much of the focus was on 20-year-old Doue, who scored his first and second goals for the national team, in what was just his sixth cap since March 2025.

He netted either side of a Marcus Thuram goal, with Jaminton Campaz grabbing one back for Colombia halfway through the second half, but it was the PSG star that Digne wanted to give a special mention to.

Taking to Instagram stories (29 March), Digne was clearly impressed by his teammate’s performance, simply tagging Doue in his one-word message of “Bravo,” with a starry-eyed emoji.

It was a spectacular display from one of the 2026 World Cup favourites, and with Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, and Hugo Ekitike all benched, it will get even scarier.

Aston Villa man could fall behind Ian Maatsen ahead of a return

Emery will want fresh legs for when the Villans come up against Bologna in their first game back after the international break, but Digne does now have 10 days to rest up.

Maatsen, on the other hand, was not called up to the Netherlands squad, and while Villa played Elche in a friendly fixture this week, the manager has been able to manage workload and minutes.

The Villans’ form has dropped significantly in the second half of the 2025-26 campaign, even putting Emery’s future in doubt, but back-to-back wins over Lille and West Ham have put the side back on track.

Of course, only time will tell, with preparations being made for the Bologna clash, but it will likely be a very late decision on who starts between Digne and Maatsen.