World Cup: Reactions after France's loss to Spain
Hear from manager Didier Deschamps and several of his players following France's 2-0 semifinal loss in the World Cup.
Didier Deschamps: "A lot of disappointment"
"There is a lot of disappointment; the players are devastated because we had high ambitions, though we also have to be realistic and acknowledge that we were a step below a team that really had things under control... ...we were a bit off our game and less dangerous than we could have been, with technical errors and passes that could have created real chances. It hurts. We have a match in Miami in four days, but it isn’t the final we wanted to play.
We’ll play this third-place match. I don’t want to dismiss everything we’ve achieved, but in this specific game, Spain showed they had that little bit extra. I’m not thinking about myself tonight; I’m thinking about the players—we prepared for this match with the aim of going all the way. The disappointment is immense because it’s a World Cup. I’m not going to overlook the good work we’ve done. I thought we had recovered well. Our opponents stopped us from playing our game; we lacked technical precision and perhaps a bit of 'juice,' as they say."
Kylian Mbappé: "They controlled the game"
"We didn’t play the match we wanted to—tactically, technically, or in terms of overall performance. When you don’t do what you’re supposed to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win. Spain stuck to their game plan. They controlled the game better than we did; we couldn’t manage that. There were too many technical errors. We didn’t play the match we had prepared for; we let them dictate the tempo, and when Spain dictates the tempo through ball control and their overall quality, it’s tough.
When we won the ball back, our initial passes and touches weren’t up to the standard of a World Cup semi-final. It’s a huge disappointment, of course, but if we’re being objective, we didn’t bring all the necessary ingredients. I feel a lot of disappointment; it was a dream for us to reach the final and give our country something to dream about. When you win, you hold your head high; when you lose, you have to keep it high, too. I’m struggling to find the right words. We’ll have to pick ourselves up and put this failure behind us, because there are other challenges ahead at both club and international levels."
Rayan Cherki: "We lacked everything"
"I don’t have any explanation to offer today; it’s very difficult because even on an off day—which can happen to anyone—you have to be a bit better in every aspect of the game: tactical, technical, and physical. It’s incredibly tough because we had everything going for us to go all the way. We know that every team feared us. I think the only team that beat us was ourselves. Tonight, we lacked everything. We had the desire. If anyone tells you they lack desire in a World Cup semi-final, they should switch sports.
We’re talking about a match that happens once every four years—perhaps the match of a lifetime. So, the desire was there, but they were better than us. It was tough, really tough. The referee? Fair enough, but this is a football match. They were craftier and smarter than us. Yes, the referee wasn’t up to the task, but the ball keeps rolling; we run, they run, we contest duels—they do too. He didn’t disallow a goal of ours; he disallowed one of theirs. They played at their own pace—the way they like to play football. We didn’t play the way we like to play, and we’re paying the price for it."
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