France’s World Cup Journey Ends in Semifinal
France‘s quest for another World Cup title concluded in the semifinals following a 2-0 defeat to Spain in Dallas on Tuesday. The loss means Didier Deschamps‘ tenure as head coach will not culminate in a third consecutive World Cup final appearance. His leadership saw France triumph in the 2018 World Cup and reach the final in 2022, where they were defeated by Lionel Messi‘s Argentina.
Despite the semifinal exit, France‘s World Cup campaign is not entirely over, as Les Bleus are scheduled to play in the third-place playoff on Saturday. This match will mark the end of Deschamps‘ 14-year spell as France manager, a period that began with significant success on the international stage.
Referee’s Performance Under Scrutiny
Following the match, Didier Deschamps expressed his dissatisfaction with the officiating, specifically questioning the performance of Salvadoran official Iván Arcides Barton Cisneros. While he refrained from directly blaming the referee for France‘s elimination, Deschamps made it clear that he was unhappy with the overall standard of officiating throughout the contest, not just a single incident.
The critical moment in the match occurred in the 22nd minute when Spain was awarded a penalty. Lamine Yamal drew contact from Lucas Digne inside the box after Digne miscontrolled the ball while attempting to clear it. Yamal managed to get in front of the France defender, who then made contact with him. Mikel Oyarzabal successfully converted the penalty, giving Spain the lead.
Deschamps remarked to reporters, “If I say anything, I’ll look like a sore loser because we lost. 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.” He reiterated that his displeasure extended beyond just the first-half penalty, citing an “accumulation of things” throughout the game.
Spain’s Dominance and France’s Struggles
Despite the controversy surrounding the officiating, Deschamps acknowledged that France‘s performance on the night was not sufficient. He admitted that the team was simply “not good enough” against Spain, marking their third consecutive defeat to the Spanish side, following previous losses in Euro 2024 and the 2025 UEFA Nations League.
Spain extended their lead in the 58th minute with a goal from Pedro Porro, set up by Dani Olmo, who managed to break through the French defence. By this point in the match, La Roja had already registered eight shots compared to France‘s two and had won nearly 60 percent of all duels, highlighting their control of the game.
France ultimately finished the match with 10 attempts on goal, but only one of these came from within 13 metres of the goal, and only three managed to test the goalkeeper. Their first shot on target did not arrive until the 81st minute. A notable struggle for France was the performance of Golden Boot frontrunner Kylian Mbappe, who failed to register a single shot on target during the semifinal.
Deschamps commented on Spain‘s defensive efforts, stating, “Today Spain defended extremely well. 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.” The coach’s final match will be the third-place playoff against the loser of the semifinal between England and Argentina on Saturday.
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Source: hindustantimes.com
Priya Nair
Sports Reporter
