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Tournament favourites France were left stunned after being comprehensively defeated 2-0 by Spain in the World Cup 2026 semi-final.

The French press has been scathing in its criticism following the team’s flat performance in Dallas on Tuesday night, where a penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and a well-taken strike by Pedro Porro sealed Spain’s spot in Sunday’s final. La Roja will now face either England or Argentina for the title.

Heading into the match as strong contenders, France’s major newspapers — including L’Equipe, Ouest France, and Le Parisien — expressed disbelief and frustration at the team’s lacklustre showing.

L’Equipe, renowned for its tough player ratings, was particularly unforgiving towards Didier Deschamps’ squad. Lucas Digne, who gave away a first-half penalty after fouling Lamine Yamal, received a rating of two. Star forwards Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele were also handed the same low score for their ineffective performances.

Kylian Mbappe, the team’s captain, did only marginally better with a score of three, the same as midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. The highest score among the French players was a modest five, awarded to Adrien Rabiot, Dayot Upamecano, and Jules Kounde.

L’Equipe’s front page featured an image of Mbappe looking skyward, accompanied by the headline ‘Etoile Filante’, meaning ‘Shooting Star’. Le Parisien’s verdict was equally blunt, describing the match as “A Rude Awakening”.

The reaction across the French media reflects the shock felt nationwide at such a timid exit. After confident knockout victories over Morocco, Paraguay, and Sweden, Les Bleus were widely expected to overcome Spain.

Deschamps’ 14-year tenure as manager will conclude on Saturday with the third-place playoff in Miami, ahead of Zinedine Zidane’s expected appointment as his successor.

L’Equipe focused much of its criticism on Lucas Digne and the French attack, which managed only three shots on target throughout the match — their first attempt on goal arriving as late as the 81st minute.

On Digne, the paper remarked: “Between his uncontrolled header and his foul on Lamine Yamal, he made two errors that led to a penalty.”

The Aston Villa defender — reportedly close to a £10 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain — was deemed culpable for kicking Yamal inside the box while attempting to clear his own header.

Turning to Dembele, L’Equipe wrote: “Starting on the right and later moved to a central role after half an hour, nothing worked. The Ballon d’Or winner got almost everything wrong. As time went on, he faded until he was practically invisible. A huge disappointment.”

On Olise, the newspaper added: “After reaching such heights in previous matches, he fell very low this time.”

Mbappe, who was graded one point higher than Digne and Dembele, was described as “isolated”.

The France captain and all-time leading goalscorer (64 goals) took responsibility for the defeat in his post-match comments. Speaking to Fox, he said: “At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win. When you don’t win, you have to take the criticism. It’s part of the game. It’s part of my game, it’s part of my life.”

He added: “As captain, I must take full responsibility, and I have no problem doing that.”