France’s pursuit of a third World Cup title ended in a sterile 2-0 defeat to Spain in the semi-final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty midway through the first half after a foul by Lucas Digne, and Pedro Porro doubled the lead just before the hour, finishing a move crafted by Dani Olmo. The French attack, despite boasting Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise, mustered only 10 shots and an expected goals figure of 0.3, their lowest of the tournament. Mbappé later acknowledged a collective failure, telling reporters that Spain “respected their gameplan” while France were “too sloppy technically” and unable to impose a high press. French newspapers were merciless: L’Équipe awarded Mbappé a 3 out of 10, and commentators across the country described the performance as haughty and presumptuous, a damning verdict on a team that had entered the match as favourites.

The defeat marks the end of Didier Deschamps’ 14-year spell as head coach. The 57-year-old, who had announced in January 2025 that he would step down after the tournament, will take charge of one final match — the third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday. In the semi-final he set a record for the most World Cup matches managed, 26, surpassing Helmut Schön’s 25. Deschamps leaves with a legacy unmatched in French football history: a World Cup title in 2018, a runners-up finish in 2022, a quarter-final in 2014 and now a semi-final. He is one of only three men to have won the tournament as both player and manager. Speaking after the loss, he refused to dwell on personal disappointment, saying he was “extremely happy” and “very proud of everything we’ve done.” British pundits, including former France striker Olivier Giroud, noted that the squad had been motivated to give Deschamps a fitting send-off, but the performance fell short.

Attention now turns to Zinedine Zidane, who according to multiple reports has a verbal agreement with the French Football Federation to succeed Deschamps. Italian transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, cited by Brazilian and Indonesian outlets, stated that Zidane has rejected all other offers over the past eight months and will sign formal documents after the World Cup. French media report that Zidane has already assembled his backroom staff, including trusted assistants David Bettoni and Hamidou Msaidie, and has begun outlining a sporting project that would deploy Michael Olise as a central playmaker. Zidane, a World Cup winner as a player in 1998, has been out of management since leaving Real Madrid, where he won three Champions League titles. FFF president Philippe Diallo confirmed in March that a successor had been chosen, though he withheld the name out of respect for Deschamps.

France will face either Argentina or England in the third-place match, a fixture that will serve as Deschamps’ farewell. The game offers little consolation for a squad that had targeted the title, but it will formally close the longest and most successful managerial era in the national team’s history. For Zidane, the task will be to rejuvenate a generation still rich in talent but, as the semi-final showed, prone to sterility in the decisive moments. The handover, long anticipated, is now imminent.