France failed to get past Spain and was eliminated from the World Cup final, with Didier Deschamps looking disappointed after the final whistle. 

The head coach of the “Tricolors” admitted that his team fell short against the “Furia Roja,” while also making no secret of his complaints about the refereeing, taking clear jabs at the referee’s decisions in the semifinal

Here is what he said in detail:

On being eliminated by Spain:

“There’s a lot of disappointment. The players are devastated because we had high hopes. But we have to be reasonable and admit that today we were a step below, especially technically, against a team that managed the game perfectly. First and foremost, we are to blame.”

On the refereeing:

“I’ll ask a question, without answering it. Was the referee up to the task of officiating a World Cup semifinal? And I’m not saying this just because we lost today. There were several plays—often to our detriment—that raised questions for me.”

On the reasons for the loss:

“The main reason is that we were slightly inferior and less dangerous offensively than we could have been. We made technical mistakes and didn’t capitalize on some passes that could have created significant opportunities. We have to accept that. This is the highest level, and as much as it hurts, Spain showed a little more.”

On the third-place match:

“I’ll prepare for the game together with my players with the goal of finishing the tournament in the best possible way. We didn’t manage to reach the final, and the disappointment is great, but that doesn’t take away from everything we did well in this World Cup.”

On the problems his team faced:

“All the teams had difficulties in this tournament. I thought we’d regained our strength, but William Saliba couldn’t continue. These are factors that didn’t help us. Nevertheless, I take nothing away from Spain’s quality; they handled the semifinal flawlessly and deserved to advance.”

*photo source: AP