French coach Didier Deschamps questioned the refereeing during the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal against Spain, as the Les Bleus’ run in the tournament came to a heartbreaking end. France were defeated 0-2 at the Dallas Stadium as La Roja displayed stellar defensive prowess to enter their second final.
Under Deschamps, France had lit up the tournament on their way to the semi-finals, scoring 16 goals in six matches and earning comparisons to some of the best sides in World Cup history. Despite strong performances in the tournament, Franceโs dreams of a third World Cup title have been shattered after a dominant Spanish performance. Deschamps, the current manager of the Les Bleus, will step down after the tournament and has the third-place playoff left to officiate in. He came down hard on the refereeing, criticising the penalty Spain were awarded in the first half, which Mikelย Oyarzabal later converted. That was the 17th penalty Spain have scored in the World Cups, the most by any team in the tournament’s history.
What did Deschamps say?
Post-match, Deschamps made more comments criticising the match refereeโs decisions. He told reporters that the players are devastated following the defeat. “There is obviously a lot of disappointment. The players are devastated because we had high ambitions.” The French Manager further added, “Although we have to be realistic and acknowledge that today we were a step below technically against a team that knew what they were doing. Itโs primarily our fault. Then I ask a question, and Iโm not going to answer it: โIs the referee good enough to officiate a World Cup semi-final?โ”
Deschamps also took a jibe at the referee, 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,” he said, without elaborating.
Spain create history
Spain denied the powerhouses, France, their third straight entry into the World Cup final after defeating Les Bleus. Spain defeated the French team 2-0 in the semifinal that took place at the Dallas Stadium on Wednesday. La Roja kept the dangerous French side, led by modern-day icon Kylian Mbappรฉ, at bay to reach their second final, where they will face either Argentina or England.ย
Once again, Spain kept a clean sheet and have achieved a huge record in FIFA World Cups. This was the sixth time La Roja had kept a clean sheet in this World Cup, marking the first time a team has kept six clean sheets in a single World Cup edition. Unai Simรณn has also kept six clean sheets as well in the tournament after saving four more shots in the semifinal.ย
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