French media attacks... 'a national team without identity'

Paris, AFP – “Confused and uninspired,” “a sad face,” “personality-less”… These harsh phrases characterized the French press’s criticism on Wednesday morning of the “Les Bleus” national team’s performance against Spain in the 2026 World Cup semi-finals.

The newspaper La Voix du Nord attacked the two-time world champions, stating, “France collapsed so miserably that it is difficult to salvage any player to a decent standard in a semi-final that will remain a nightmare (0-2). Luca Digne committed an unforgivable error, and Michael Olise offered nothing, dragging the entire team down,” while emphasizing that “the luxury was Spanish.”

For its part, L’Equipe headlined its website “Collapse in Dallas” for “Les Bleus,” writing that “the French national team, which suffocated in all aspects of the game, lost logically.”

The newspaper added that “on July 14, their day of glory did not arrive” and that the players “lacked personality,” receiving a “football lesson from the Spanish.”

The French national team will play the third-place match on Saturday against the loser of the England-Argentina match, in what the sports daily described as “Didier Deschamps’ final match as coach.”

Ouest-France’s front page carried the headline “The End of the American Dream,” accompanied by a picture of striker Kylian Mbappé covering his face with his hand. Meanwhile, Le Télégramme summarized the match with a single word: “disappointment,” featuring an image of the captain looking dejected on the pitch, symbolizing a catastrophic evening for the French national team.

The French press unanimously praised the superiority of the Spanish team, described as “masters of the game,” and their “resilience and good organization,” as noted by Le Figaro on its front page, while criticizing the French national team, which was “often confused and lacking inspiration.”

La Dernière Nouvelle de Dallas wrote, “The highly coordinated Spanish national team overwhelmed the French team,” while the daily newspaper Aujourd’hui en France headlined “Fall from the Top,” noting on its front page that the French, “who fell behind from the first half, failed to find the key to victory against the Spanish Armada.”

“The French national team was devoid of offensive effectiveness yesterday and was subdued (...) by a solid Spain on its way to a treble: the European Championship, the Olympic Games, and the World Cup.”