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15 July 2026

French media have strongly criticised the French national football team following their elimination by Spain in the World Cup semi-final.

Les Bleus, considered one of the favourites to win a third World Cup title, were unable to dismantle a well-drilled Spanish side. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and Pedro Porro doubled Spain’s lead, while France’s star-studded forward line failed to make an impact.

Spain, under coach Luis de la Fuente, will now face either England or Argentina—who are set to play on Wednesday night—in Sunday’s final.

French newspapers were ruthless in their reaction to the defeat. L’Equipe featured a dejected Kylian Mbappe on its front page under the headline “Fleeting star”.

Le Parisien also displayed an image of Mbappe with the headline “Fallen from a height”, accompanied by the caption: “Trailing from half-time, Les Bleus never found the key to unlock the Spanish powerhouse.”

Le Figaro declared: “Spain put an end to Les Bleus’ dream”, again alongside a picture of Mbappe. Ouest France called the result “the end of the American Dream”, showing the striker covering his face in despair.

Several players received particularly harsh criticism from the French press, with three players earning just two out of 10 from L’Equipe.

Those players were Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne—who conceded a penalty after fouling Lamine Yamal while attempting to control the ball—and Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele.

L’Equipe described Dembele as “a huge disappointment”, writing: “Initially on the right, then moved centrally after half an hour, nothing helped: the Ballon d’Or winner did almost everything wrong. As the minutes ticked by, he gradually faded until he became almost invisible. A huge disappointment.” The publication also criticised Digne for his “uncontrolled header and his foul on Lamine Yamal”, adding that “he made two mistakes that resulted in a penalty.”

Olise, who had enjoyed an excellent World Cup until this match, was not spared either. L’Equipe commented: “Having risen so high in previous matches, he fell very low this time.”

Captain and star forward Kylian Mbappe received a rating of three, with the note: “He often seemed very isolated and tried to do everything himself, without success.”

Mbappe himself was equally critical of the team’s performance, stating after the match: “There were too many technical errors. We didn’t know how to hurt them when we needed to. It was up to us to shift the balance of power, and that’s where we failed.”