For the last few weeks, France had seemed destined to reach their third straight World Cup final, but in the end they were overrun by a more tactically coherent Spain team in the semi-finals. Once France went behind to Mikel Oyarzabal’s penalty in the 22nd minute – the first time they had trailed in the tournament – Didier Deschamps’ side never looked like mounting a comeback. There would be no bolt from the blue from Kylian Mbappé, with the match instead plodding along to its logical conclusion. Where did it go wrong and what will come next?
France’s front four flounder
France’s all-star attack had been praised across the globe for the last six weeks. Having scored 13 goals in their first four matches, their frontline looked unstoppable. Against Spain, though, the forwards did not combine meaningfully with one another and their lack of clinical edge was laid bare.
France were 2-0 down before they had a shot on target. Mbappé, the second top scorer in men’s World Cup history, failed to have a shot on target. As had been the case in the last two matches, Mbappé’s attacking impact was blunted by the need to drop deeper into midfield, and his first shot did not arrive until midway through the second half.
Michael Olise, who was compared to Michel Platini for his playmaking performances in the group stage, lost the ball 20 times and struggled to find his bearings. Ousmane Dembélé did not trouble Unai Simón until the final minutes of the match. Of the starting quartet, the most significant impact on the match came from Bradley Barcola in his defensive contributions, with Lucas Digne unable to contain Lamine Yamal.
France’s forwards, who had looked so at ease swapping positions and combining in the early stages of the competition, appeared increasingly isolated from each other as the knockout stages progressed. In locking down the middle third of the pitch, Spain succeeded in keeping the forwards distant from each other and cut off from the rest of the team.
Deschamps had no answers
Adrien Rabiot was the only France player who repeatedly broke down the Spanish lines, but he was hamstrung by the yellow card he picked up in the 10th minute. Deschamps’ decision to take him off at half-time drastically decreased France’s chances of winning the midfield battle. Alongside the recently injured Aurélien Tchouaméni, who often found himself playing too far back to have any influence on the match, Manu Koné was unable to replicate his standout performance against Morocco.
Deschamps made a some like-for-like switches but they had no impact on the momentum of the game. Desiré Doué and Rayan Cherki were confined to isolated pockets of space, and Théo Hernandez did not fare any better than Digne against Spanish attacks down the right wing.
Spain’s midfield supremacy continues
It would be difficult to argue France underestimated their opponents; Deschamps repeatedly singled out Spain as the favourites to win the tournament. Whether this was a sincere assessment or an attempt to reduce the pressure on his own team, his observation was backed up by recent experience.
Counting the last Olympic final, France have now lost four consecutive matches to Spain, all in semi-finals or finals. Spain’s midfield supremacy ultimately made the difference in all of those matches. For the second time in three years, France were overrun by a midfield consisting of Rodri, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Olmo.
Spain’s midfield superiority extends beyond matches between the senior sides. Whatever the lineup, whatever the age group, Spain have a clearly defined style that is replicated across all of their teams as part of an all-encompassing strategy. The same cannot be said of France’s various teams, which often seem to be built on a case-by-case basis in response to the individual talent available. Up against a deeply ingrained tactical setup, those individuals have been thwarted at every turn.
What next? The Zidane era
Deschamps will end his 14-year tenure after Saturday’s third-place playoff in Miami. Finishing on the podium at three World Cups would not make for bad reading, and would surely place Deschamps as France’s best-ever head coach, but the lasting verdict will be that he could have achieved more given the talent at his disposal.
The freedom Deschamps afforded his forwards in this tournament could also have been seen as a transition towards the Zinedine Zidane era. Zidane was famously non-interventionist when it came to coaching his front three at Real Madrid, and the depth of talent in the France squad will allow for a similar approach.
In any case, Zidane’s appointment is likely to bring a degree of continuity to the national team. Like Deschamps, Zidane is above all a pragmatist on the sidelines. He is also an icon who commands respect in the dressing room – even more so than Deschamps. There are reasons to be optimistic. He will have a relatively young squad and will have goodwill from fans, players and decision-makers.
The 2018 and 2022 World Cup campaigns were ultimately the culmination of Deschamps’ tactics of control and pragmatism, which took several tournaments to perfect before they became a winning formula. That approach had evidently run its course by Euro 2024 and he was right to switch things up. It was perhaps overly ambitious, though, to expect such a radical change to click straight away. France breezed into the latter stages, but they failed against Spain.
This new-look France team may realise its full potential in four years’ time under Zidane. If that is the case, Deschamps’ legacy will be winning a World Cup and also laying the foundations for the new era.
This is an article by Get French Football News
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