France had the better players on paper. That much was obvious before the semifinal against Spain. Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola — that’s a front four most managers would trade a kidney for. But paper doesn’t win World Cup games. Midfields do.
Spain beat France 2-0 on Tuesday night, and it wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t a bad night or a questionable call. It was a tactical dissection. Luis de la Fuente’s team simply controlled the center of the field from the first whistle to the last. Rodri and Fabian Ruiz stayed close to each other, never strayed far from their defense, and pinged passes forward with surgical precision. Dani Olmo, the front three, the overlapping full-backs — they all got fed because Spain’s engine room functioned like a well-oiled machine.
France’s midfield? It barely functioned at all.
The midfield gap is nothing new
Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot are good players. But they are not midfield commanders. They do not dictate tempo. They do not impose themselves on a game the way Rodri and Ruiz do. And against a team that thrives on possession and movement, that deficiency becomes a death sentence.
Didier Deschamps blamed the referee after the match. That didn’t sit well with Rayan Cherki, who basically admitted the coach was reaching. But Deschamps has a history of papering over this crack. In 2018, he had Paul Pogba’s range and N’Golo Kante’s relentless energy alongside Antoine Griezmann’s work rate. That trio could bully any midfield in the world. This squad had no equivalent.
France’s front four got starved. They couldn’t get the ball in dangerous areas because nobody in the center could progress play. Spain didn’t even have to defend that deep. They just kept possession, moved it around, and watched France chase shadows. Deschamps made substitutions that only made things worse, changing shape late instead of addressing the core issue.
What comes next for France
Deschamps leaves as a legend. He took over a fractured program in 2012 and built a World Cup winner. That can’t be taken from him. But whoever replaces him — and the smart money is on Zinedine Zidane — has to fix a problem that’s been obvious for years.
France needs midfielders who can connect defense to attack. They need somebody who can pick up the ball under pressure and make something happen. Not just win duels or recycle possession. They need a real orchestrator. Without that, even the best front line in the world is just four guys standing around waiting for a pass that never comes.
Spain moved on. France went home. And the reason was right in the middle of the field.
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