Read 3 minutes15 Jul 2026 02:12 PM IST
Spain sealed their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final with a 2-0 victory over France in the semi-finals at Arlington on Tuesday night, with a scintillating team performance past the two-time champions.
Former French midfielder Patrick Vieira did not hold back in assessing their defeat and criticized Didier Deschamps’ side’s collective display on the grand stage.
“It was a big expectation for France to win the World Cup. We are all really disappointed with the result but mainly with the performance, because we needed our top players to perform today and they didn’t. It wasn’t one or two that were missing, they were all missing. Collectively we were really bad,” Vieira said. ITV.
Stars like Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise scored all night, but the Spanish defense stood firm and kept them quiet for the better part of the game.
Mikel Oyarzabal converted from the penalty spot in the first half after French left-back Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal on the edge of the box. Ten minutes into the second half, full back Pedro Porro played a brilliant one-two with Dani Olmo to give Spain a 2-0 win, enough to end Les Bleus’ World Cup dreams.
Deschamps’ men failed to score for the first time in this edition, ending France’s six-match unbeaten run.
Although Digne was at fault for the penalty, Vieira singled out winger Desiree Doi for a defensive error in the lead-up to the second goal. “He was played one-two around him, he had to be around him to stop his run or to chase him down. We can blame Digne for his tactical position, but Du has to be more decisive and more defensive-minded. We are talking about someone who has won the Champions League. Defensively, the awareness has to go to a different level,” said former captain Arsene.
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Vieira also admitted that Ollis, who had shone in the earlier stages of the tournament, failed to feature, largely due to a spectacular turnaround by Luis de la Fuente’s men.
“Spain was a good team, France didn’t come at all. I said before that Spain will have to be at their best to beat this French team and I think they are above that. Collectively it was fantastic from them. Technically it was all on them,” assessed Vieira.