France/Spain – the grim stat behind France's lack of cutting edge | OneFootball

On Tuesday evening, the France national team was eliminated in the 2026 World Cup semi-finals by Spain in a one-sided match that ended 0-2. OptaJean, a media outlet specializing in statistics, illustrated the Bleus’ struggles with a very telling figure.

(xG: expected goals, a statistic based on the chances created).

France, presented since the start of the World Cup as a major attacking force, with possibly the best attack in history according to some, ran into a major obstacle. Spain showed tremendous quality on the ball, thereby denying the Bleus opportunities. It is also a way of draining the opponent’s energy, something we are used to seeing with PSG. And when they lost possession, the Spaniards defended very well both collectively and individually.

Everything became more difficult than against previous opponents, and France had no answer. That was true both among the players and the staff, with too few substitutions that brought nothing special. There was also a feeling that there was a big gap in intensity and confidence. As seen in the closing stages, when the Bleus did not even seem to want to raise the tempo.

The exit is a painful one, with that constant sense of untapped potential. All that remains now is to finish on a positive note in the third-place match, even if it is only scant consolation. Solutions will then have to be found; that will be the mission of the new head coach. Most likely, Zinedine Zidane.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.