France lost 2-0 to Spain in the FIFA World Cup semi-final held on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, ending their run in the tournament [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The defeat marked France’s third consecutive major semi-final loss to Spain, following defeats at Euro 2024 and the 2025 Nations League [3, 5, 8].
France entered the semi-final on the back of six consecutive wins and a potent attack, having scored 16 goals in six games [1, 7]. However, in the semi-final, France were outplayed tactically, technically, and physically, as admitted by captain Kylian Mbappe and other players [2, 9, 8]. Mbappe said, "We didn't play the match we wanted to play, whether tactically or technically. When you don't do what you're supposed to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don't win" [9]. Midfielder Rayan Cherki added, "We lost to ourselves. We didn’t lose because of the referee, and we didn’t lose to Spain" [9].
France coach Didier Deschamps acknowledged his players were "devastated because we had a lot of ambition," but took responsibility for the team being "a notch below on the technical level against a team that controlled the game well" [1]. Deschamps also raised questions about the referee Ivan Barton from El Salvador, saying, "Is the referee at the level required to officiate a World Cup semi-final? And I’m not saying this just because we lost today. There were quite a few situations. There were some favourable calls, too" [1]. One contentious moment was an early penalty awarded to Spain after a foul by France’s Lucas Digne on Spain’s Lamine Yamal [1, 4, 6, 7].
Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente rejected Deschamps' criticism, saying, "When results don't meet expectations, people tend to look for external reasons. The refereeing decisions affected both sides, we also had a goal disallowed and close offside calls. I don't think it was biased against one side" [10]. He credited Spain’s win to "superior team cohesion, tactical execution, and playing our own aggressive style," adding, "We are a real team, and a real team is unstoppable" [10, 11].
Spain will face either England or Argentina in the World Cup final. De la Fuente expressed readiness for any opponent and noted his particular friendship with Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni [12].
Deschamps will step down as France coach after the World Cup. The third-place playoff, scheduled for July 18 against either England or Argentina, will be his final game in charge [3, 5, 8, 2]. Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to succeed him as coach of the French national team [3, 9, 5, 8].
