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Didier Deschamps fumes after France's World Cup exit, points to Spain penalty and referee: 'Was he up to the task?'
Despite his frustration with the officiating, Didier Deschamps admitted France simply were not good enough against Spain
It wasn't the farewell many expected, but Didier Deschamps' remarkable spell as France head coach will end without a third consecutive World Cup final. His reign began with the 2018 World Cup triumph, followed by the heartbreaking defeat to Lionel Messi's Argentina in the 2022 final. And in a tournament where France looked destined for another shot at the title, Spain brought their run to a halt with a 2-0 semifinal victory in Dallas on Tuesday.
France's World Cup campaign, however, is not over just yet. Les Bleus will return for the third-place playoff on Saturday.
After the defeat, Deschamps stopped short of directly blaming the referee for France's exit, but made it clear he was unhappy with the performance of Salvadoran official Iván Arcides Barton Cisneros. It was not just the first-half penalty awarded to Spain that frustrated him, he suggested, but the overall standard of officiating throughout the contest.
"If I say anything, I'll look like a sore loser because we lost," Deschamps told reporters. "But I ask you: is the referee up to the task of officiating a semifinal? There's the penalty, but that's not all; it adds to everything else. I have nothing against the referee tonight, but ask yourselves the question."
The decisive incident came in the 22nd minute when Lamine Yamal won a penalty after being kicked by Lucas Digne inside the box. Digne had miscontrolled the ball while attempting to clear it, allowing Yamal to nip in front before the France defender caught him. Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up and converted from the spot to give Spain the lead.
Despite his frustration with the officiating, Deschamps admitted France simply were not good enough on the night as they suffered a third successive defeat to Spain, following losses at Euro 2024 and the 2025 UEFA Nations League.
"To have any hope, we needed to be at our best," he said. "Unfortunately, we weren't."
Spain doubled their advantage in the 58th minute through Pedro Porro after Dani Olmo carved open the French defence. By then, La Roja had already attempted eight shots to France's two and won nearly 60 per cent of all duels.
France eventually finished with 10 attempts, but only one came from inside 13 metres of goal and just three tested the goalkeeper. Their first shot on target did not arrive until the 81st minute. Adding to their struggles, Golden Boot frontrunner Kylian Mbappe failed to register a single shot on target.
"Today Spain defended extremely well," Deschamps said. "They left us very little space. On top of that, because we made technical mistakes, it became difficult to create problems for them. Our technical level was below what we'd shown in previous matches."
Deschamps' 14-year tenure as France manager will now conclude with Saturday's third-place playoff against the loser of Wednesday's semifinal between England and Argentina.
