France crash out of World Cup semi-final against Spain, Deschamps questions referee's level

A night of deep disappointment

France's 2026 World Cup campaign ended in a flat semi-final defeat to Spain in Dallas on Tuesday, 14 July. The 2-0 loss at AT&T Stadium dashed the ambition of reaching a third straight final. Coach Didier Deschamps, in his last tournament with the national team, described a squad that was 'devastated' and admitted his side had been a notch below their opponents technically.

There is a lot of disappointment. The players are devastated because we had a lot of ambition, even if you also have to be logical and recognise that today we were a notch below technically against a team that controlled its subject and more.

Self-inflicted wounds

Midfielder Rayan Cherki, who came on as a substitute, delivered the most blunt assessment, saying France had beaten themselves. He pointed to a lack of adversity in earlier rounds as a possible factor, suggesting the team may have believed they were above the fray when matches were too easy.

We didn't lose against the referee, we didn't lose against Spain, we lost against ourselves. We knew we scared everyone. The only team capable of eliminating us was ourselves, and that's what happened.

Cherki also noted that Spain controlled the tempo and played their preferred slow rhythm, while France failed to impose their own game. He observed that even when France won the ball high up the pitch, the first touches were not worthy of a World Cup semi-final, with too many technical errors.

Deschamps questions the referee

While accepting primary responsibility, Deschamps pointedly questioned whether Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton was qualified for the occasion. He stressed he was not blaming the defeat on the official but cited an accumulation of decisions that went against his team.

I ask myself a question: did the referee have the level for a World Cup semi-final? I'm not going to answer it and I'm not saying this because we lost, but there were certain situations... often to our disadvantage.

Deschamps added that the fourth and fifth officials beside him were at the required standard but were not being followed. Cherki, meanwhile, said the referee had not been up to the mark but that Spain had been 'more vicious, more intelligent than us' and that a better French performance would have rendered the officiating irrelevant.

Spain's control and France's technical failings

Spain executed their game plan of controlling possession and dictating the tempo. France's objective had been to press high and avoid the slow rhythm, but they found themselves outnumbered three against two in midfield. Fabian Ruiz and Rodri had too much time to play, and there was a lack of communication in the pressing. Defender Maxence Lacroix, who replaced the injured William Saliba in the first half, described a silent dressing room afterwards, with Deschamps telling the players to hold their heads high given the journey they had made.

What comes next

France must now contest the third-place match on Saturday, 18 July, in Miami. The opponent will be the loser of the other semi-final between England and Argentina, scheduled for Wednesday in Atlanta. For Deschamps, it will be his final match in charge of Les Bleus. Cherki admitted the third-place game was far from the players' minds immediately after the defeat, saying they simply wanted to forget what had just happened.