Where did it all go wrong for France against Spain?

France suffered a 2-0 loss against Spain in the semi-final of the 2026 World Cup yesterday.

Despite being the favourites to win the clash, France failed to live up to expectations.

Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola failed to make any impact, and the defence struggled to contain Spain’s fluidity.

France manager Didier Deschamps blamed the referee for the defeat, but playmaker Rayan Cherki said he was clutching at straws.

They were simply outclassed by a team that had better tactics on the night. Spain manager Luis de la Fuente had the better plan.

France lose the crucial midfield battle

So where did it all go wrong for France versus Spain? The answer is easy – in midfield. 

For all of France’s talents up top and in defence, their midfield play and overall technical quality were not up to par.

Spain’s collective football culture was on display, and Les Bleus had no answer to it.

France do not have central midfielders who can take charge of proceedings and dictate play in the engine room.

Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot do not shine in those situations. By contrast, Rodri and Fabian Ruiz dominate games this way.

Rodri and Ruiz never strayed too far from each other and stayed connected to their defence, punching passes into Dani Olmo, the front three and overlapping full-backs at will.

France had the better frontline but didn’t have the mechanisms or progressive play to get the ball to them in areas where they could be dangerous.

They previously had Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, a technician and a gritty ball-winner, alongside the ever-willing Antoine Griezmann to impose themselves in midfield.

This time around, they didn’t have those qualities and Deschamps never properly addressed the issue.

Combine that with his dreadful substitutions, and it is easy to see how Spain came away with the victory.

Deschamps leaves France as perhaps their greatest ever manager. Les Bleus are in a much better position than they could have dreamt of in 2012. 

However, whoever comes in will need to improve their play in midfield.

He must embrace interconnectedness in the centre of the park and not just expect the ball to magically arrive in the final third.