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De La Fuente’s battalion ends France’s dream
The Spanish team won a valuable victory over France and reached the finals of the 2026 World Cup. Although coach Didier Deschamps’ side were considered the favorites to win the tournament, due to their all-out attacking style that allowed them to overcome all opponents with relative ease, they were unable to hold off Luis de la Fuente’s side.
Spain again relied on their defensive solidity to thwart French attacks and enjoyed complete control to claim a 2-0 victory.
Spain return to the World Cup final 16 years after reaching it in Johannesburg, where they were crowned world champions for the first time thanks to Andres Iniesta’s goal.
Spain’s play captivated the world, especially his ability to neutralize the threat of big players like Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olis. Even the French press, which initially appreciated the performance of the Spanish national team, later criticized the French coach and his leading stars, and accepted the defeat with great shock and extreme disappointment.
La Roja is undefeated
On the front pages of leading French newspapers such as L’Equipe and Le Figaro, there is much criticism of the French team, but above all there is more praise for the Spanish team.
“Disaster in Dallas” for the French national team, this is how the “L’Equipe” newspaper headlined the front page of its website. The newspaper wrote: “The French team was suffocated in all aspects of the game and logically lost.”
He continued. “On this day, the fourteenth of July, their day of glory has not come.” French footballers are “characterless” and “almost got a football lesson from the Spanish”.
French television network M6, which owns the rights to broadcast soccer’s World Cup, has strongly protested the video that led to the penalty awarded against France.
But apart from the criticism of the penalty, which was quite clear as Lucas Digne brought down Lamine Yamal in the penalty area, the French press praised Spain’s talent and the style of play of Luis de la Fuente’s men from the outset and conceded that Spain completely outplayed France over the course of ninety minutes.
Front page of L’Équipe for Wednesday 15 July pic.twitter.com/smlUE7Q2GT
— L’Équipe (@lequipe) July 14, 2026
Disgraceful performance
In Le Figaro newspaper, which was particularly critical of players such as Michael Olis and Kylian Mbappe, the headline read: “The failure of Olisi and Mbappe is very disappointing.”
L’Equipe’s assessments of the players were also very sharp, with Didier Deschamps giving 2 out of 10 and Olisse also giving the same rating, then Kylian Mbappé 3, Ousmane Dembele 2, Barkola also 4 and he was the only player to escape public criticism.
Le Monde newspaper described the performance of the French team as shameful, Le Figaro as disastrous, and Le Parisien as extremely disappointing.
On the other hand, RMC Sport strongly criticized Deschamps, accusing him of poor match planning, before praising the performance of Luis de la Fuente’s team.
To the abyss
“France had fallen to such a low level that it was difficult to save players of a certain level in this semi-final, which will remain a nightmare (0-2)” the daily, which considered the “Spanish level” as standard, also quipped.
According to the Liberation newspaper, the French team “failed” and “seemed unable to reach the semi-finals” given the “quality of footwork and skill of the Spanish internationals”.
For its part, Ouest France headlined its front page with the phrase “The end of the American dream” above a picture of Kylian Mbappe covering his face with his hand.
On the other hand, Le Telegram newspaper summed up the match in one word: “disappointment” and published on its front page a picture of the captain of the French national team in pain on the field, which is a symbol of a disastrous evening for the French national team.
They fell from a great height
The French press unanimously praised the superiority of the Spaniards, whom Le Figaro described on its front page as “masters of the game” and “coherent and well organized”.
“The Blues were overshadowed by a perfectly organized Spanish team,” said Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, while Aujourdeuil en France headlined “They fell from a great height” and noted on its front page that “the Blues, trailing in the first half, never found the key against the Spanish fleet”.
“France’s defeat is heartbreaking,” Midi Libre newspaper headlined this morning, with a photo of Desiree Douy with her head buried in her shirt.
The magazine adds: “The French team did not perform convincingly yesterday, but it was subjected to the absolute control of stubborn Spain.”
“If the French national team does not win its third star, its journey will still be amazing,” regional daily Nord Eclair said under a photo with the phrase “National Defeat” of French players walking with their heads down at the end of the game.
