(Kylian Mbappe reacts to his team’s defeat. Photo by USA Today)
France captain Kylian Mbappe appeared to question Didier Deschamps’ tactical approach following Les Bleus’ 2-0 defeat to Spain in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday.
The loss put an end to France’s hopes of reaching a third straight World Cup final, as Spain outplayed the tournament favourites to secure their spot in Sunday’s final.
Speaking after the match, Mbappe suggested France had misjudged their pressing strategy against Spain’s commanding midfield, orchestrated by Rodri and Fabián Ruiz.
“We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that’s hard,” Mbappe said. “Fabian and Rodri had plenty of time to play.
There was a lack of communication on the press. I think we should have done man-to-man press and force them to run with us.”
The Real Madrid forward conceded that France had fallen short both tactically and technically, allowing Spain to control the pace of the game from start to finish.
“We didn’t play the game we wanted, technically, tactically,” Mbappe said. “When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don’t win.
Spain respected their game plan and what the team usually does. They like to control the ball and the tempo. Our plan was to press them high so they could not install their rhythm.
Because they are better than us at controlling a game. We didn’t manage to do it. We were too sloppy technically. We could not hurt them when we could have.”
Spain seized control of the encounter after Mikel Oyarzabal converted a first-half penalty, before Pedro Porro extended the lead, leaving France struggling to fashion any meaningful chances throughout the match.
Mbappe, who ended the tournament with eight goals to level with Argentina captain Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, also pointed to the team’s repeated failure to retain possession. “Even when we recovered the ball, our first touches were not good enough.
That gives a defeat. It is a huge disappointment. But if we are objective, we didn’t put all the ingredients to go to the final.”
Deschamps made several changes in the second half, bringing on the likes of Désiré Doué and Rayan Cherki, but the substitutions did little to shift the momentum as Spain saw out a comfortable victory.
Cherki shared his captain’s assessment, acknowledging that France had been outplayed in every aspect of the game. “I don’t know what to say.
They were better than us in every part of the game, and they were hungrier than us I think,” Cherki said.
“It is sad because I still believe that we are a better team than them, but this afternoon Spain has been better than us.
Even in an off day, we have to be a bit better technically, tactically, in the desire. In so many ways, France was missing everything today.
Truly, everything was missing today. We’ll be back in four years, and we won’t make the same mistakes.”
Mbappe’s frustration surfaced again late in the game when he collided with Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón while trying to close him down, resulting in a yellow card in the 86th minute.
Despite the disappointment, France’s captain took ownership of the defeat.
“As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility and I have no problem with that,” Mbappe said. “We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t go.”
France will now take on the loser of the second semi-final between Argentina and England in Saturday’s third-place play-off, while Spain will go on to contest the World Cup final.
