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ARLINGTON, TX – It has been nearly two years since France was held scoreless in any international competition, dating back to a 0-0 draw in November 2024 versus Israel in the UEFA Nations League.
Against Spain in the World Cup semifinals, though, just about everything went wrong for the championship favorites.
Les Bleus, led by a world-class attacking trio of Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé – the Golden Boot leader – and Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, did more than just fail to score in their 2-0 loss, they struggled to create scoring chances, in general. France created zero big chances, only had three shots on goal and finished the match with 0.30 expected goals.
REQUIRED READING: Mbappé went missing. Spain is the prime suspect | Opinion
Looking to avenge its 2022 World Cup loss to Argentina, France brought its worst game at the worst time.
“It's an immense disappointment,” France midfielder Rayan Cherki said after the game. “Today we lost against ourselves. We didn't lose against the referee, we didn't lose against Spain, we lost against ourselves.
“You all know that everyone was scared of us. The only team who were capable of eliminating us was ourselves. Today is terrible.”
Spain controlled the game from start to finish, taking an early 1-0 lead after a Mikel Oyarzabal penalty kick in the 22nd minute following a Lucas Digne kick to Spain wunderkind Lamine Yamal in the box. Before France could put its first shot on goal, Spain extended its lead to 2-0 with a 58th-minute strike from right back Pedro Porro.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente started Paris Saint-Germain’s Fabián Ruiz over Pedri, who broke FC Barcelona’s record for youngest player in club history to make 150 appearances, and it worked to perfection. Ruiz led the match with 83 touches, and his height (6-foot-2) helped keep France’s attack in check at times.
Mbappé said France aimed to control the tempo of the game, but that’s the exact opposite of what happened in front of an announced crowd of 70,176 at AT&T Stadium.
"We had a plan to go to them under pressure, to go one against one, to not let them lead the tempo of the game, to not let them play the way they want to play,” Mbappe told Fox’s Jenny Taft. “It’s a team who loves to have control of the game, control the ball and that’s what we let them do.
“We let the midfield too much time to play and at the end of the day the authority to play. It’s difficult when you don’t change the plan of Spain.”
Olise, who broke out as one of the best players in the world the last two years at Bayern Munich in Germany, has been among the most creative attackers at the World Cup, with five assists in seven matches, the most by a player in any World Cup since 1994.
But he largely disappeared against Spain. So did Mbappé, who leads the tournament with eight goals and is nearing the World Cup’s all-time record at 27 years old. Dembélé did, too, although he’s one of 10 players in history to win a World Cup, a Champions League and a Ballon d’Or in their career.
“They closed out all the spaces,” France manager Didier Deschamps said of Spain via translation. “And also we’ve made some technical mistakes. It is difficult to create problems when the technical level is below standard. Especially compared to previous matches.”
France’s golden generation last won the World Cup in 2018 before falling to Messi and Argentina in a penalty shootout in the 2022 final. The 2026 tournament marks the end of an era for Deschamps, who led the side to four World Cups, including France’s quarterfinals exit in 2014 to eventual champions Germany.
The loss to Spain is his final match as France’s manager. He’s set to hand over the reins to legendary former player Zinedine Zidane, the 1998 Ballon d’Or winner and former Real Madrid manager.
Deschamps, though, chose not to speak on what’s next for him. He took a moment to acknowledge France’s accomplishments during his 14-year tenure, including each of their World Cup finishes together.
Unfortunately for Les Bleus, in 2026 it ran into a Spain side that muddied up the pitch and shut down their all-time attack.
"This Spanish team is a strong one, “Deschamps said. “It is tough and proved their skills today. We were below our standard. We committed more technical flaws than before and even though I believed the entire team would recover, they did not.
“We knew the skills of the Spanish team and to hope for victory, we should have been at our maximum and we did not. We are extremely disappointed tonight.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How France lost World Cup to Spain: 'We lost against ourselves'
Continue reading...
Against Spain in the World Cup semifinals, though, just about everything went wrong for the championship favorites.
Les Bleus, led by a world-class attacking trio of Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé – the Golden Boot leader – and Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, did more than just fail to score in their 2-0 loss, they struggled to create scoring chances, in general. France created zero big chances, only had three shots on goal and finished the match with 0.30 expected goals.
REQUIRED READING: Mbappé went missing. Spain is the prime suspect | Opinion
Looking to avenge its 2022 World Cup loss to Argentina, France brought its worst game at the worst time.
“It's an immense disappointment,” France midfielder Rayan Cherki said after the game. “Today we lost against ourselves. We didn't lose against the referee, we didn't lose against Spain, we lost against ourselves.
“You all know that everyone was scared of us. The only team who were capable of eliminating us was ourselves. Today is terrible.”
Spain controlled the game from start to finish, taking an early 1-0 lead after a Mikel Oyarzabal penalty kick in the 22nd minute following a Lucas Digne kick to Spain wunderkind Lamine Yamal in the box. Before France could put its first shot on goal, Spain extended its lead to 2-0 with a 58th-minute strike from right back Pedro Porro.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente started Paris Saint-Germain’s Fabián Ruiz over Pedri, who broke FC Barcelona’s record for youngest player in club history to make 150 appearances, and it worked to perfection. Ruiz led the match with 83 touches, and his height (6-foot-2) helped keep France’s attack in check at times.
Mbappé said France aimed to control the tempo of the game, but that’s the exact opposite of what happened in front of an announced crowd of 70,176 at AT&T Stadium.
"We had a plan to go to them under pressure, to go one against one, to not let them lead the tempo of the game, to not let them play the way they want to play,” Mbappe told Fox’s Jenny Taft. “It’s a team who loves to have control of the game, control the ball and that’s what we let them do.
“We let the midfield too much time to play and at the end of the day the authority to play. It’s difficult when you don’t change the plan of Spain.”
Olise, who broke out as one of the best players in the world the last two years at Bayern Munich in Germany, has been among the most creative attackers at the World Cup, with five assists in seven matches, the most by a player in any World Cup since 1994.
But he largely disappeared against Spain. So did Mbappé, who leads the tournament with eight goals and is nearing the World Cup’s all-time record at 27 years old. Dembélé did, too, although he’s one of 10 players in history to win a World Cup, a Champions League and a Ballon d’Or in their career.
“They closed out all the spaces,” France manager Didier Deschamps said of Spain via translation. “And also we’ve made some technical mistakes. It is difficult to create problems when the technical level is below standard. Especially compared to previous matches.”
France’s golden generation last won the World Cup in 2018 before falling to Messi and Argentina in a penalty shootout in the 2022 final. The 2026 tournament marks the end of an era for Deschamps, who led the side to four World Cups, including France’s quarterfinals exit in 2014 to eventual champions Germany.
The loss to Spain is his final match as France’s manager. He’s set to hand over the reins to legendary former player Zinedine Zidane, the 1998 Ballon d’Or winner and former Real Madrid manager.
Deschamps, though, chose not to speak on what’s next for him. He took a moment to acknowledge France’s accomplishments during his 14-year tenure, including each of their World Cup finishes together.
Unfortunately for Les Bleus, in 2026 it ran into a Spain side that muddied up the pitch and shut down their all-time attack.
"This Spanish team is a strong one, “Deschamps said. “It is tough and proved their skills today. We were below our standard. We committed more technical flaws than before and even though I believed the entire team would recover, they did not.
“We knew the skills of the Spanish team and to hope for victory, we should have been at our maximum and we did not. We are extremely disappointed tonight.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How France lost World Cup to Spain: 'We lost against ourselves'
Continue reading...
