Deschamps says France ‘devastated’ by defeat, questions referee

France coach Didier Deschamps said his players were left “devastated” by their World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain on Tuesday before aiming a barb at match referee Ivan Barton from El Salvador.

Deschamps’ free-flowing French team had dazzled the competition en route to the last four, rattling in 16 goals in six games to earn comparisons to some of the greatest teams in World Cup history.

But France’s dreams of a third World Cup title were left in tatters after a dominant Spanish performance that left Deschamps, who is stepping down after the tournament, struggling for answers.

“Of course, there is a lot of disappointment,” Deschamps said immediately after the defeat at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“The players are devastated because we had a lot of ambition, even though we also have to be realistic and acknowledge that today we were a notch below on the technical level against a team that controlled the game well.

“But first of all, it’s our fault, I don’t want to blame anyone.”

Deschamps though could not resist firing a shot at referee Barton, who had awarded Spain an early penalty after Lucas Digne kicked Lamine Yamal in the first half.

“I’ll ask a loaded question and I won’t answer it,” Deschamps said. “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.

On the other hand, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente saluted his players as the “best team in the world” on Tuesday after a stunning 2-0 World Cup semi-final upset of France.

De la Fuente, who had repeatedly said Spain were the best side in the tournament, was left beaming with pride as La Roja outplayed France to reach Sunday’s World Cup final.

It was another tactical masterpiece by the Spanish coach, who oversaw La Roja’s European Championship victory in 2024 and has now beaten France in three straight competitive matches.

“We started almost four years ago with an idea and we’ve been faithful to that idea and it’s brought us here,” de la Fuente said.

“Today we faced one of the best national teams in the world, but in front of them they had the best team in the world. That is different.”

De la Fuente is now contemplating Spain’s first World Cup final appearance since 2010.

“These players deserve everything — day after day they’ve showed their commitment, their solidarity, their generosity, their talent,” de la Fuente added of his team. “They make the difficult look easy.” | AFP