Deschamps admits Spain ‘deserved’ final as France boss defends tactics before England play-off

Didier Deschamps has conceded that Spain fully merited their place in the World Cup final and described France’s exit as “crushing”, while staunchly defending his attacking tactics ahead of the third-place play-off against England.

Speaking in what is set to be his final press conference as France head coach before facing Gareth Southgate’s side in the bronze-medal match, Deschamps made no attempt to soften the blow of the semi-final defeat to Spain.

“علينا قبول الهزيمة، فالمنتخب الاسباني كان افضل منا,” he said, in comments reported by Foot Mercato – “We have to accept the defeat, the Spanish team were better than us.”

The loss had initially left him furious with the standard of refereeing, but with emotions cooled he now says “La Roja” earned their spot in the showpiece.

Spain’s ‘collective’ outplayed France

Deschamps offered a blunt technical assessment of where France had been outclassed, insisting that the issue was not fitness but Spain’s superior cohesion and control.

He praised Spain’s collective strength, saying they had “raised the level of the challenge”, and called France’s elimination a brutal blow in the context of their ambitions.

He stressed that “the extent of the disappointment is in line with how high our ambitions were”, underlining how heavily the defeat had weighed on the squad.

Despite that, Deschamps rejected the idea that his decision to field four forwards in a highly attacking set-up was to blame for the result.

Four forwards ‘not the problem’

Pressed over his insistence on a front line stacked with attackers, Deschamps mounted a firm defence of his tactical plan.

“من حقكم طرح كافة الاسيلة ووضع نظرياتكم الخاصة، ولكن ليست هذه هي الازمة؛ فالمنتخب الاسباني لعب هو الاخر باربعة مهاجمين,” he said – “You are entitled to ask all the questions you want and put forward your own theories, but that is not the issue; the Spanish team also played with four forwards.”

He argued that France’s main weakness lay in their inability to keep the ball and cope with Spain’s technical precision, not in the basic shape of his team.

“لم نتمكن من الهجوم بفاعلية، ووقعنا في فخ هدر الكرات، والمنافس فرض علينا ذلك. في مونديال قطر لعبنا باربعة مهاجمين ولم يمنعنا ذلك من الوصول الى النهايي. هذا خيار اتحمل مسووليته,” he explained.

“We were not able to attack effectively and we fell into the trap of wasting possession, and the opponent forced that on us. At the Qatar World Cup we played with four forwards and that did not stop us reaching the final. This is a choice for which I take responsibility.”

He underlined that the selection was not some cosmetic gesture to make France look more adventurous: he had genuinely believed it gave his side the best chance of winning.

Inside the Rabiot half-time substitution

Deschamps also offered rare insight into one of his most scrutinised in-game decisions – substituting Adrien Rabiot at half-time of the semi-final.

Rabiot was already on a yellow card and, according to Deschamps, it was the midfielder himself who raised the alarm.

“جاء الي رابيو خلال استراحة شرب المياه وقال لي: لم اعد قادرا على اللعب باسلوبي المعتاد. عندما تكون لاعب خط وسط، فان اللعبة تدور حولك بزاوية 360 درجة. فقلت له: تماسك، ولا تتهور بمد قدمك في الكرات المشتركة، لان الامر كان خطيرا. لقد خضت مثل هذه المباريات سابقا واعلم كيف يتحول اللاعب فيها الى شبح لنفسه,” Deschamps recalled.

Rabiot’s concern, combined with the risk of a second booking, pushed the coach to act.

“كان بامكاني ادارة الامور بشكل مختلف، لكنني لا اقف كثيرا عند هذه الفرضيات. لقد اتخذت قراري بناء على المعطيات التي كانت امامي وخبرتي السابقة,” he said, insisting that his call was grounded in experience rather than hindsight speculation.

‘Not a friendly’ – Deschamps demands reaction vs England

Despite the obvious disappointment of missing out on another World Cup final, Deschamps dismissed any suggestion that the upcoming clash with England is meaningless.

He said he expects a strong response from his players in a match he considers far from a dead rubber.

“هذه ليست مباراة ودية، بل مواجهة حقيقية على المركز الثالث في المونديال. واجبي هو بذل كل ما في وسعي لتحقيق هذا الهدف؛ فلدينا مسوولية تجاه ملايين الفرنسيين,” he concluded.

“This is not a friendly match, but a real contest for third place at the World Cup. My duty is to do everything I can to achieve this goal; we have a responsibility towards millions of French people.”

France now head into the play-off still wounded by Spain’s superiority, but with Deschamps demanding one final, full-blooded performance from a team that has fallen just short of the summit.