Didier Deschamps will mark a bittersweet record when he leads Les Bleus for the 27th and final time in a World Cup match on Saturday, after 14 years at the helm. But the bronze-medal tie in Miami is certainly not the sendoff he had hoped for to bring his time with France’s national team – their most successful yet – to a close.
“We’ve got another match in four days’ time, even if it’s not the one we were expecting. Tonight we’re very disappointed – in fact, we’re deeply disappointed,” Deschamps conceded after his side were outplayed and outsmarted by Spain in a gruelling semi-final loss at the Dallas Stadium.
Read moreSpain deliver masterclass to sink French Armada and reach World Cup final
France’s defeat – their third consecutive one at the hands of La Roja, after semi-final exits at Euro 2024 and the Nations League last year – provides an anticlimactic farewell for the 57-year-old, who announced last year that he would step down when his contract expired after the tournament.
Ironically, the chastening defeat comes as Deschamps’ swashbuckling France had begun to silence critics of his defensive-minded tactics, putting an abrupt end to their short-lived experiment in champagne football.
France's Kylian Mbappé is beaten to the ball by Spain keeper Unai Simon. © Albert Gea, Reuters Winning, with the break pulled
Over the years, Deschamps has established a winning pedigree that speaks for itself, guiding France to back-to-back World Cup finals and clinching the famous golden trophy both as player (1998) and as coach (2018).
Success with Les Bleus followed a distinguished stint as club manager that saw him take AS Monaco to the 2004 Champions League final, guide Juventus back into Serie A immediately after their demotion in the Calciopoli scandal, and end Marseille’s 18-year wait for a French league title in 2010.
Eric Cantona once dismissively described him as a “water carrier”, but the label came to capture the qualities that defined Deschamps: discipline, intelligence, selflessness and an instinctive understanding of what winning teams required.
When he took the France job in July 2012, it was those qualities that helped him rebuild a team still reeling from the players’ strike that ended their dismal 2010 World Cup campaign.
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Cover image: © France 24 01:43
And yet in the eyes of many fans of the beautiful game, Deschamps’ conservative approach had left a blemish on his extraordinary record. Why, the sceptics asked, be so timid with the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé in your squads – not to mention Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and (on the few occasions he was called up) Karim Benzema.
With a lone World Cup title from six major tournaments, along with the inaugural Nations League in 2021, many had come to see the glass as half-empty rather than half-full, noting that the Deschamps era has been blessed with an extraordinary wealth of homegrown talent.
His critics finally got what they wanted as France went in with all guns blazing at this World Cup. Tuesday’s semi-final suggests the coach may have been right all along.
Vindicated in defeat?
After 14 years of pragmatic football, France’s risk-averse manager unleashed their full attacking potential for his last tournament at the helm, to the delight of French and other fans in awe of Les Bleus’ formidable armada of forwards.
At the start of the World Cup Bradley Barcola spoke of the joy players took from their newfound freedom on the pitch: “We get the ball, we do pretty much what we want, we don’t overthink things, and that’s how it works.”
It’s hard to think of a statement more at odds with Deschamp’s philosophy, typically a byword for discipline and control – the very things that deserted them against Spain.
Read moreFrance's World Cup dream extinguished in chastening semi-final loss to Spain
France had but two weaknesses going into the match – at midfield and left-back. Both were ruthlessly exploited by La Roja, who bossed the midfield and repeatedly sliced through their opponents’ weaker flank, leaving Les Bleus’ much-vaunted attack disjointed, starved of the ball and bereft of ideas.
It was a grim final chapter for a coach whose sides had usually found a way, even when playing poorly.
“I do not want to throw away everything we have done,” Deschamps said after the defeat. “But in this match Spain showed they had something more.”
Deschamps’ critics had long argued that France’s extraordinary talent pool demanded more expansive football. His response had generally been the same: tournaments were won through adaptability, defensive resilience and an acceptance that style mattered less than survival.
In defeat, perhaps, came his final vindication.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
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