Roy Keane tears into France after Spain's 2-0 World Cup elimination of Deschamps' side

Spain eliminated France from the World Cup with a commanding 2-0 victory in Arlington, Texas, and ITV pundit Roy Keane wasted no time in dissecting where Didier Deschamps’ side fell apart.

Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty before Pedro Porro added a second with a composed finish, and it was the manner of that second goal that drew Keane’s sharpest criticism. Porro exchanged a one-two with Dani Olmo around Lucas Digne, found himself in acres of space inside the French penalty area, and took two touches before placing the ball past Mike Maignan.

“When I see these goals and I see players making these mistakes — it’s clear his confidence is gone, he doesn’t know whether to stick or twist — you expect your mates to cover for you,” Keane said of Digne’s role in the goal. “It happens all the time, players can get caught out of position, but no-one’s helping. That’s where they didn’t play as a team.”

The former Manchester United captain was equally critical of the players behind France’s much-discussed attacking line. “We’re on about the attacking players not turning up, but the team behind them didn’t exactly give them a foundation to go on and win the game,” he added. “The French defence and midfield were all over the place, they weren’t doing the basics right.”

Digne endured a particularly difficult afternoon. The left-back conceded the opening penalty when he caught Lamine Yamal rather than the ball while attempting a clearance, and was then caught in two minds — whether to press Yamal or track Porro’s run — before the Tottenham Hotspur defender doubled Spain’s lead.

Digne, who is reportedly set to move from Aston Villa to Paris Saint-Germain, was not alone in struggling. Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and the rest of France’s attacking players were largely anonymous as Luis de la Fuente’s Euro 2024 winners controlled proceedings from start to finish, ending the 2022 runners-up’s World Cup campaign.