Spain ended France‘s hopes of a third consecutive World Cup final appearance with a 2-0 victory in Dallas, prompting a furious reaction from the French press who labelled the semi-final display a “collective failure” and the team “demolished”.
The defeat, which came on Bastille Day at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, saw Didier Deschamps’ side eliminated despite entering the match as tournament favourites. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal, before Pedro Porro sealed the victory in the second half with a composed finish past Mike Maignan.
France’s struggles were compounded when William Saliba was forced off through injury before the interval, and Kylian Mbappé endured a frustrating evening that ended with a yellow card for an elbow on Unai Simón. Les Bleus failed to register a single shot on target during the opening 45 minutes, mustering only a late effort from Mbappé that crept inches wide of the post.
Press reaction
The morning after the defeat, L’Équipe headlined its report “Demolished”, with correspondent Vincent Duluc describing the performance as a “disaster of a game, this disaster of strategy and emotions”. He wrote that the players appeared “mentally sunk by the emotional dimension of the match”.
Le Monde described the elimination as a “cruel disappointment” and a “collective failure”, noting that “the fall to earth is as brutal as it is painful”. Ouest France ran with “The end of the American dream” alongside an image of Mbappé with his head in his hands, while Libération observed that the team “fell from very, very high”. The regional daily La Voix du Nord wrote that the semi-final would “remain a nightmare”.
Writing in Le Figaro, Baptiste Desprez acknowledged Spain’s superiority, stating that France were “stifled, pummelled and incapable of three passes despite their promise from the start of the competition”.
Tactical disappointment
Deschamps had recalled Aurélien Tchouaméni from a thigh injury to start in midfield, with the Real Madrid midfielder replacing the impressive Manu Koné, who dropped to the bench. Bradley Barcola was preferred to Désiré Doué on the left flank, though the attacking changes failed to overcome Spain’s resolute defence, which had conceded just once in six matches prior to the semi-final.
Luis de la Fuente named an unchanged side from the quarter-final victory over Belgium, with Oyarzabal’s penalty taking his tournament tally to five goals. Spain’s victory was built on disciplined defending, with Marc Cucurella making a crucial late intervention to deny Mbappé a clear run at goal.
What next
Spain advance to the World Cup final on Sunday, 19 July, where they will face either England or Argentina in New Jersey. France, meanwhile, will contest the third-place playoff on Saturday in Miami, marking a bitter conclusion to a campaign that had seen bars across the country packed with supporters anticipating a celebration on the national holiday.