The performance in Dallas made the defeat harder to digest. France had been the most feared attacking team in the tournament coming into the semi-final, but they managed just 10 shots all match, the lowest total they had recorded at this World Cup. Their expected goals figure was a meagre 0.3, a number that bore no resemblance to the team that had dismantled opponents throughout the earlier stages. Star players failed to show up when it mattered most, and Spain, disciplined and controlled as they have been throughout this tournament, punished the absence of France's usual intensity without mercy.
Kylian Mbappe, joint-leading scorer at the tournament alongside Lionel Messi, offered a frank assessment of what went wrong. He said France had three players against two in midfield throughout the match, which made building any rhythm or momentum extremely difficult against a Spanish side that excels at controlling possession. He pointed to a lack of coordination in the press and said France had been too loose technically when they had moments to hurt Spain. Spain simply stuck to what they do best, and France did not. In a World Cup semi-final, that gap in execution was decisive.
The Record Books and a Remarkable Legacy
Despite the manner of the exit, the numbers attached to Deschamps' name as France manager are extraordinary. His 2-0 defeat in Dallas was only his third loss in 26 World Cup games as France boss, a total that sets a new record for the most matches managed at a World Cup, surpassing the mark of 25 he had previously shared with former West Germany manager Helmut Schon. He won 20 of those 26 matches. As either a player or a manager, he was involved in more than half of every game France won at a World Cup, and both times they lifted the trophy.
He is one of only three people in history to have won the World Cup as a player and then again as a manager, alongside Brazil's Mario Zagallo and West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer. Under his management, France reached the quarter-finals or beyond in four successive tournaments, a feat only three other nations had previously achieved. They went agonisingly close to retaining the title in 2022, losing to Argentina on penalties in the final. The France side he built this year, featuring Mbappe, Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, and rising Bayern Munich star Michael Olise, carried genuine expectations of going all the way. That they fell short in the last four does not diminish what he built over 14 years.
Former striker Olivier Giroud, who won the 2018 World Cup under Deschamps, spoke warmly and honestly about what the manager meant to the players he worked with. He said there had been extra motivation throughout the tournament to give Deschamps the ending he deserved. He fell short of that final, but Giroud was clear that his record speaks entirely for itself. He described Deschamps as a figure who gave players freedom on the pitch while instilling an unshakeable competitive mindset and a desire to win every single game. For some players, he said, Deschamps was like a second father.
What Comes Next for France
When Deschamps announced in January 2025 that he would step down after this tournament, it set in motion a search for whoever would take over one of the most demanding jobs in international football. The strong favourite to succeed him is former teammate and World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane, who won three Champions League titles as manager of Real Madrid before stepping away from his only managerial role in 2021. Reports have suggested a verbal agreement was in place as far back as March for Zidane to take over following this summer's tournament.
Former France defender Gael Clichy, now managing third-tier club Caen in France, put the challenge facing any successor into plain terms. He said whoever comes in will find it hard, and that the transformation Deschamps oversaw from a struggling team to one regularly competing at the top of world football was a genuinely phenomenal achievement.
Deschamps replaced Laurent Blanc in 2012 following a period of embarrassment that included a squad refusing to train at the 2010 World Cup amid an internal dispute. He turned that around entirely, creating consistency, unity and success over a sustained period that very few international managers ever manage. The final chapter of that story will be written on Saturday, in a match that feels like a footnote but will be treated by Deschamps, one suspects, with the same professionalism that defined every game before it.
