After largely dominating the World Cup, France hit a wall in Tuesday’s semifinal in a 2-0 loss to a Spain team that has allowed just a single goal in seven World Cup games.
Spain’s defense locked up French stars Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé while getting a goal in each half to advance to Sunday’s final. Spain’s first goal arrived via a borderline penalty in which Lamine Yamal drew contact in the box from Lucas Digne while he didn’t have possession of the ball.
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After the game, France coach Didier Deschamps was asked about the officiating, and he was clearly displeased with the decision.
“Now, I’m asking you, and I’m not going to answer it,” Deschamps said, via translation from French. “I don’t want to come across as a whiner because we lost, but did tonight’s referee have the level to officiate a World Cup semifinal?
When asked a follow-up, Deschamps said that he wasn’t just displeased with the critical first-half penalty.
“It’s not just the penalty in question, it’s an accumulation of things,” he said.
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Iván Barton of El Salvador was Tuesday’s referee.
Did this warrant a penalty?
Here’s the penalty in question:
Digne attempted to corral an errant Spanish cross in front of the French goal. After a chest touch, he did a 180 and attempted to kick the ball downfield toward the Spanish goal.
But Yamal came sprinting in from Digne’s blindside, and Digne instead kicked the Spanish winger in the torso. The contact took place in the box, and Barton immediately signaled for a penalty.
Mikel Oyarzabal converted on the ensuing penalty kick, and France trailed for the first time in the World Cup.
Did that warrant a penalty? By the book, there was contact in the box against an offensive player who touched the ball, so technically, yes. But it was a difficult penalty for France to swallow given that Yamal didn’t actually have possession of the ball, and the ensuing penalty kick shifted the tenor of the game fully in Spain’s favor.
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Deschamps was visibly disgusted by the call in real time.
In the end, it’s a tough way for France to go out in a World Cup in which it was viewed by many as the favorite.
For Deschamps, who’s coached France for 14 years and led it to the World Cup title in 2018, it marked his final chance to secure another World Cup championship. He plans to step down at the conclusion of the tournament, and Saturday’s third-place game will be his last.
But controversial penalty or not, it’s difficult to make the case Spain’s win wasn’t well-deserved. Spain was the better team on both sides of the ball throughout Tuesday’s semifinal and now stands one win away from securing its second World Cup championship.
