Deschamps Concedes Spanish Superiority but Questions Semifinal Refereeing

France has been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup. After losing 0-2 to Spain in Dallas on Tuesday in the semifinal, the Blues will face an opponent to be determined on Saturday in Miami for third place.

Didier Deschamps first chose clarity to analyze a defeat he deemed deserved. “The players are devastated, but we have to be logical, we were below par technically,” he said. “It’s our fault. We were below par with some technical errors, poorly weighted passes that could have created chances. That’s the very highest level.” The manager acknowledged Spain’s collective superiority: “In this match, Spain showed something more. They controlled their game.”

But Deschamps could not resist returning to Spain’s opening goal, scored from a penalty after contact between Lamine Yamal’s arm and Lucas Digne’s foot. Aware of the rhetorical risk, he chose his words carefully: “The refereeing? If I say something, I’ll come across as a sore loser because we lost… But I’m asking you whether this referee had the level to referee a World Cup semifinal. There’s the penalty but there’s more than that, it comes on top of everything else. I have nothing against tonight’s referee, but ask yourselves the question anyway.”

The evening also carried historical significance for the Bayonne-born coach: he managed his 26th World Cup match, surpassing German Helmut Schön’s record. On Saturday in Miami, he will play his 27th — and final at the helm of the Blues — not to claim a third star, but to finish on the podium.