French media have poured scorn on the efforts of the France team after they were knocked out by Spain in the World Cup semi-finals.
Les Bleus had been among the favourites to seal a third title at the tournament but were unable to break down an organised Spain, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring from the spot and Pedro Porro doubling their advantage, while France’s all-star attack was neutralised.
Luis de la Fuente’s European champions will face either England or Argentina, who meet on Wednesday night, in Sunday’s final.
France have been fiercely criticised for their lacklustre showing by the national press, with L’Equipe plastering a picture of Kylian Mbappe looking dejected on its front page alongside the headline “Fleeting star”.
Le Parisien also featured a picture of Mbappe alongside the headline “Fallen from a height”, with the caption reading: “Trailing from half-time, Les Bleus never found the key to unlocking the Spanish powerhouse.”
Le Figaro wrote: “Spain put an end to Les Bleus’ dream”, again alongside an image of Mbappe, while Ouest France called it “the end of the American Dream”, with the striker covering his face in disappointment.
Several players came in for particular condemnation from the French press, with three players earning two out of 10 ratings from the outlet L’Equipe.
All three of Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne – who was responsible for conceding a penalty after kicking Lamine Yamal when attempting to control the ball – and Paris St-Germain striker Ousmane Dembele were given the rating.
The paper slammed Dembele as “a huge disappointment”, writing: “Initially on the right, then moved centrally after half an hour, nothing helped: the Ballon d’Or winner did almost everything wrong. As the minutes ticked by, he gradually faded until he became almost invisible. A huge disappointment.” Digne was blasted for his “uncontrolled header and his foul on Lamine Yamal”: “he made two mistakes that resulted in a penalty”.
Olise was not spared despite having an excellent World Cup until this point, with L’Equipe writing: “[Having] risen so high in previous matches, he fell very low this time.”
Captain and star striker Mbappe was awarded a three, alongside the note: “He often seemed very isolated and tried to do everything himself, without success.”
Mbappe was equally derogatory about his side’s performance, saying after the match: “There were too many technical errors. We didn’t know how to hurt them when we needed to. It was up to us to shift the balance of power, and that’s where we failed.”
