FEATURE | Three things we learned as lacklustre France bow out to Spain in the semi-finals | OneFootball

France faced Spain in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup in Dallas as they attempted to reach a third successive final in the competition. However, it wasn’t meant to be for Les Bleus as goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro saw the Spaniards qualify for their first final since they won the tournament in 2010. 

Digne’s struggles against Yamal

France have been praised throughout the tournament for their attacking prowess, particularly out wide, with Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué impressing from wide positions. This time it was their turn to come up against one of the greatest wingers in world football in the form of Lamine Yamal.

The Barcelona winger made Lucas Digne pay for some lacklustre defending when he won a penalty, which resulted in the first goal of the game. The Aston Villa defender’s lack of awareness sees him blindly kick the attacker, with the teenager happy to take the contact and win his team a penalty. 

Digne came off worse in the battle against Yamal throughout the game, with the Spaniard finding space in behind the Frenchman on more than one occasion and exploiting his frailties with good spatial awareness to evade his marker. An example of this was some great link-up play with Olmo, which almost saw him create the second goal of the match as he left Digne behind with ease. 

Les Bleus second best

Whilst Les Bleus found themselves behind at the break, not many could argue that this wasn’t justified given the difference in the performance levels of both teams. Spain was able to win the ball in dangerous areas and create opportunities. Additionally, the Spaniards were winning the second balls and controlled possession for the first forty minutes before a late push from France. 

On the other hand, Les Bleus failed to get going. The attacking foursome, which has received much praise throughout the competition, failed to fire, and a lack of physical presence in the middle of the pitch saw France bullied by Rodri and co. The Spanish midfield worked doggedly off the ball to frustrate Les Bleus and outmuscled their French counterparts. Didier Deschamps was left with perhaps the biggest half-time team talk of his tenure as Les Bleus boss, with France needing to find some inspiration from somewhere. 

His team talk didn’t have the desired effect, with Spain finding their second goal through a smart finish from Pedro Porro early in the second half. As La Roja doubled their lead, France huffed and puffed to find a way back into the game, but it wasn’t enough to secure their third successive World Cup final 

Flawsome foursome

Much of the praise for France during this tournament has focused on their magnificent attacking riches. Deschamps has opted for an attacking quartet boasting the talents of Kylian Mbappé, who has continued to break records, Ousmane Dembélé, who shone against Norway when he was much needed, and Michael Olise, who has slotted seamlessly into the role of chief playmaker. Barcola and Doué have also played their part. 

Nevertheless, it would be hard to find any praise for the French attack following their display against Spain. Olise struggled to pull the strings in attacking midfield or make his presence felt as he managed a solitary touch in the opposition box. Dembélé felt like a passenger for much of the game and proved to be ineffective in attack as he failed to have a shot during the match before the 96th minute. Mbappé left Unai Simón unthreatened and looked a frustrated figure up front for much of the night as he failed to register a shot on target. The woes of their attack epitomised the French performance as they exit the competition in a whimper. 

GFFN | Liam Wraith