Didier Deschamps appeared visibly disappointed after France’s defeat against Spain (0-2) in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup. The French coach lamented his team’s elimination, acknowledged the superiority of the Spanish side, and although he avoided focusing his speech on the refereeing, he hinted at his displeasure over several decisions made during the match.
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Right at the start of his appearance, Deschamps made a reflection on the referee’s performance, although he avoided making a direct criticism. “If I say something today, I will seem like a complainer because we lost…,” he began. Then, he passed the evaluation to the journalists present: “But the question I ask all of you is: does this referee have the necessary level to officiate a World Cup semifinal?”. When asked for a more concrete answer, he insisted that the media should be the ones to judge the refereeing. “No, it’s not me, it’s you who should give it.” Furthermore, he clarified that his displeasure was not limited to a single action. “It’s not just the penalty in question, it’s an accumulation of things,” he stated.
The question I ask all of you is: does this referee have the necessary level to officiate a World Cup semifinal?”
Didier Deschamps
French coach
Beyond his doubts about the refereeing, the coach took responsibility for the defeat and admitted that France was below the level needed to compete against Spain. “A lot of disappointment. The players are devastated because we had a lot of ambition. We were below par technically against a very strong opponent, but first, it’s our fault,” he acknowledged.
Deschamps pointed out that, besides some referee decisions he considered detrimental to his team, the main reason for the elimination was the performance offered by his players. “There are quite a few situations (referring to the referee) that have been unfavorable to us. But the primary reason is that we were below what we should have been, with some technical errors. We were not at our level,” he explained.
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The French coach also praised the match played by Spain, which he considered superior for much of the game. “Spain showed something more than us in this match,” he summarized, before admitting the hard blow of falling just short of the final. “The disappointment is strong because it’s a World Cup,” he expressed.
Finally, Deschamps analyzed the tactical development of the match and assured that Spain’s approach completely conditioned his team. “It was not enough because the opponent prevented us. We had less clarity. Spain knows how to anticipate very well and forced us to defend. We couldn’t defend as we wanted,” he concluded.
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