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France captain Kylian Mbappe has admitted that his team made a crucial tactical misstep in their World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain, suggesting that the side’s midfield setup left them exposed against the European champions.

Spain advanced to the final with a commanding 2-0 victory in Dallas, effectively neutralising France’s attacking threat and dictating the tempo of the encounter from start to finish.

Heading into the match, Mbappe and the French attack had been in fine form throughout the tournament, with the forward still in contention for the Golden Boot. However, Didier Deschamps’ men struggled to find rhythm and composure in their semi-final display.

The Spanish midfield trio of Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, and Dani Olmo proved dominant, consistently outplaying and outnumbering France’s Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot in the centre of the park.

Mbappe later expressed that Deschamps’ decision not to reinforce the midfield was a costly mistake. “We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that’s hard,” Mbappe said after the match. “Fabian [Ruiz] and Rodri had plenty of time to play. There was a lack of communication in our pressing. I think we should have gone man-to-man and forced them to move with us.”

He further added, “We didn’t play the game we wanted, either technically or tactically. When you fail to execute your plan in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win. Spain stuck to their style and strategy. They like to control possession and dictate the tempo. Our plan was to press them high to disrupt their rhythm.”

“They are better than us at controlling a game. We couldn’t impose ourselves. We were too sloppy technically and didn’t take advantage when we had the chance,” Mbappe conceded.

France only began to pose a real threat late in the match, by which time Spain had already secured a 2-0 lead through Mikel Oyarzabal’s penalty and a strike from Pedro Porro.

The upcoming third-place play-off will mark the conclusion of Didier Deschamps’ tenure as France manager, with Zinedine Zidane expected to take over from the 2018 World Cup-winning coach.