What should have been a day of farewell—even if a bitter one following a 6-4 defeat against England—for France at the 2026 World Cup has instead turned into a blame game and a poorly understood wave of self-criticism among the French players. With Kylian Mbappe still competing for the Golden Boot but fearing Lionel Messi will surpass him, Adrien Rabiot has now launched a heavy critique, drawing a direct response from Didier Deschamps.
A disastrous performance in the first half of the third-place match saw France head into the locker room trailing 4-0, creating a tense atmosphere that eventually boiled over during post-match media interviews. Rabiot did not hold back when assessing the performance. “We started this first half in a quite embarrassing way. I saw behaviors in some players that I had never seen until now. It is a bit disappointing because it was the last game to look good in this competition,” Rabiot stated.
“There is a lot of disappointment after the loss to Spain, but we had to give everything until the end and we cannot settle for doing things halfway just like that.” Despite the terrible start, France showed signs of life after the break, a point noted by other members of the squad. “We talked at halftime, told ourselves we had to show some pride, and the second half was much better, because in the first half there were some unacceptable attitudes,” Rabiot concluded.
Deschamps’ response
This unfortunately marked Deschamps‘ final match with France, concluding the career of an unquestionable legend in the history of the team. However, his farewell was bitter, compounded by Rabiot’s controversial remarks, which the manager addressed with authority.
Didier Deschamps, Head Coach of France, inspects the pitch.
“I am not going to settle scores today!“ Deschamps said. “The players know it well. I am not going to point fingers. Instead, I always tell them what I think! Certainly, as Kylian said, it had to be digested.
“But it is I who made a mistake, I should have made other decisions from the start of the match, they can say it, and maybe it would have turned out better. Everyone is judged by their performances. Obviously, some players could have done better. I wish the best to everyone.”
France left reeling
There is no denying that France put together a surprising run throughout the tournament due to their dominance. Their World Cup journey included victories over Senegal (3-1), Iraq (3-0), Norway (4-1), Sweden (3-0 in the round of 32), Paraguay (1-0 in the round of 16), and Morocco (2-0 in the quarterfinals) before hitting a wall against Spain. The Spanish side secured a 2-0 victory in the semifinals, shattering French dreams of lifting another trophy.
That elimination left deep scars within the locker room. According to L’Equipe, several players identified Deschamps as the main culprit behind the loss to Spain. Specifically, players pointed to the decision to keep Aurelien Tchouameni in the starting lineup and the substitution of Rabiot at halftime. The unrest grew because the coach maintained the exact same system during the second half, restricting his adjustments to player-for-player substitutions without altering the overall tactical approach.
