JAKARTA - Didier Deschamps' 14-year tenure as France's head coach will end with the third-place match on Sunday, July 19, 2026, early morning WIB, against England.
So far, the name that is rumored to replace him is Zinedine Zidane who is just waiting for the inauguration from the French Football Federation (FFF).
However, ahead of facing England, Deschamps has a lot of homework from the defeat against Spain in the 2026 World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, early morning WIB.
Spain took the lead through an early penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal, then added a goal through Pedro Porro in the 58th minute.
By the time of Porro's goal, Spain had taken eight shots to France's two and had won 60 per cent of all duels.
France finished the game with 10 shots on goal, but only one was within 13 yards of the goal, and only three were on target.
"To have any hope, we have to be at our best. Unfortunately, we weren't. Spain defended very well."
"They gave us very little space. In addition, because we made a technical mistake, it became difficult to create problems for them. Our technical level is below what we have shown in previous games," said Deschamps.
In France's first six games, forwards Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and Michael Olise scored a total of 13 goals and 10 assists. Against Spain, they only scored five shots on goal with a goal expectancy of just 0.15.
"Compared to them (Spain), in combination and our pass sequence, they are also very good at reading the game and intercepting the pass."
"We couldn't find a solution. I don't want to say that our attacking and technical expression is just gone. That's usually one of our strengths."
"There are also many things to praise from the opponent. I will not condemn everything we have done or erase what we have achieved."
"However, I will repeat it, in a game like this, against a team like Spain, you have to be at your maximum level. France was not at that level tonight," Deschamps said.
In addition, Deschamps also questioned the performance of referee Ivan Arcides Barton Cisnero. The reason is, Oyarzabal's penalty kick in the 22nd minute occurred after Lamine Yamal was fouled when kicked by defender Lucas Digne.
After a poor first touch with his head, Digne tried to clear the ball away when Yamal ran from behind to snatch the ball in the penalty area. The ball hit the elbow of the jumping teenager before he was kicked by Digne.
"If I say something (about the referee), I will look like a bad loser because we lost. However, I ask you, is the referee able to lead the semifinal match?"
"There was a penalty, but that's not all, it adds everything. I have no problem with the referee, but ask yourself the question," said Deschamps.
The defeat prevented France from reaching a third consecutive World Cup final. So far, only West Germany (1982, 1986, and 1990) and Brazil (1994, 1998, and 2002) have achieved this feat.
Nevertheless, this is their third consecutive trip to the semi-finals and their fourth consecutive trip to the quarter-finals. The defeat to Spain was their second defeat in normal time in Les Bleus' last 21 World Cup matches.
"We didn't control the situation enough. The opponent forced us to make mistakes. However, this is the World Cup semi-final. For two players (us), this is their first semi-final."
"It doesn't take away anything from what we've done well before. I don't want to downplay everything that has been achieved," said the coach.
Deschamps certainly has the motivation to close his journey with France by at least reaching third place in the 2026 World Cup.
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