Deschamps blasts refereeing after France falls to Spain

"The players are devastated, but we need to be honest: we were technically inferior. The responsibility is ours. But I have one question: was the referee prepared to referee a semi-final? I'm not going to answer. There were several situations", he stated.

Despite the criticism, Deschamps highlighted that the main reason for the elimination was the French performance.

"We fell below our level, made technical errors and wasted passes that could have created good opportunities. In a match of this size, these details make a difference. It hurts, but now we will have to compete for third place", he said.

The coach avoided devaluing France's campaign in the tournament, but recognized Spain's superiority in the confrontation.

"I don't want to erase everything we've done so far, but in this match, Spain showed something more. They controlled the game and were better," he said.

Deschamps also pointed to the lack of precision and intensity as determining factors for the result.

"The disappointment is huge because we didn't manage to reach the final. Still, I don't take credit for what we did well. We lacked technical precision and energy. Spain has a lot of quality to interrupt plays, anticipate passes and control spaces. We would have liked to have created more difficulties in attack", he added.

Spain destroys France and advances to the World Cup final

The Spanish team is again in a World Cup final 16 years later, beating the French in the semi-finals 2-0, surprising given France's initial favoritism