France’s leading players have faced severe criticism after Spain ended their hopes of winning a third World Cup title with a commanding 2-0 semi-final victory.

Didier Deschamps’ side had arrived in Arlington with six consecutive wins and one of the most productive attacks at the tournament.

Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise had combined for 13 goals and 11 assists before facing Spain. When France needed them most, however, all three struggled to influence the contest.

According to Samuel Parts’ report for Fotbollskanalen, the performance left former France captain Patrick Vieira particularly disappointed.

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Vieira criticises collective failure

Vieira said France’s elimination could not be blamed on one or two individuals because almost the entire team had fallen below the required standard.

“The expectations for France to win the World Cup were high,” Vieira said during ITV’s coverage.

“We are all very disappointed with the result, but above all with the performance. We needed our key players to deliver today, but they didn’t.

“It wasn’t just one or two who were missing, it was the whole group.”

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France had scored freely during the earlier stages of the competition, with Mbappé and Dembélé among the leading scorers.

Against Spain, however, they found little space between the lines and rarely placed goalkeeper Unai Simón under serious pressure.

Olise struggled to receive the ball in dangerous positions, while Dembélé was unable to escape Spain’s compact defensive shape. Mbappé occasionally threatened from the left but could not produce the decisive moment France required.

Wright stunned by Spain’s control

Former England striker Ian Wright was equally surprised by how comfortably Spain dealt with the French attack.

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“The French players simply didn’t show up,” Wright said.

“It was about structure rather than individual skill. Spain were brilliant. I’m shocked that it went so easily.”

Wright’s reference to structure reflected the clear difference between the teams.

Spain defended as a coordinated unit, controlled the midfield through Rodri and Fabián Ruiz and prevented France from building sustained attacks. Deschamps’ players, by contrast, often appeared disconnected when attempting to move the ball towards their forwards.

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France’s attacking quality had frequently allowed them to overcome tactical problems earlier in the tournament. Spain ensured that individual talent was not enough on this occasion.

Spain punish France’s mistakes

Spain opened the scoring in the 22nd minute after Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal inside the penalty area.

Mikel Oyarzabal converted the resulting spot kick before Pedro Porro doubled the advantage in the 58th minute following a quick exchange with Dani Olmo.

As described in FIFA’s official match report, Spain frustrated France at one end of the pitch and punished them at the other to earn a deserved place in the final.

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France attempted to respond after falling two goals behind, but their increased possession produced few clear opportunities.

Deschamps introduced Rayan Cherki, Désiré Doué, Manu Koné and Theo Hernández, yet Spain maintained their organisation and continued to control the central areas.

France left with bronze-medal match

The defeat ended France’s attempt to reach a third consecutive World Cup final after winning the competition in 2018 and finishing as runners-up in 2022.

It did not bring their tournament to a complete end.

France will contest the third-place play-off on Saturday, while Spain will face England or defending champions Argentina in Sunday’s final in New Jersey.

The bronze-medal match gives France an opportunity to conclude the tournament with a victory, but it will do little to remove the disappointment surrounding the semi-final performance.

France possessed enough talent to challenge for the trophy. Against Spain, their leading players were unable to demonstrate it, leaving Vieira and Wright to deliver a blunt assessment of a team that failed collectively on its most important night.