Deschamps: France had an embarrassing first half

The head coach of the French national team Didier Deschamps commented in the match for the third place of the 2026 World Cup against England (4:6). "It's a defeat. We were 0-4 down. We had a disgraceful first half. However, we showed fighting spirit and there were things we did well. We had two chances to make it 4-4 and after that we went forward a bit more... We did what we know how to do. It's my fault - maybe I didn't do what I needed to do in the first half... At least it looked like a game, even if the loss hurts. Of course, it would be better to take third place. We came here with great ambitions. We managed to do a lot of positive things. We could not win the match against Spain. This is not a complete failure. We have a quality squad, young players who will continue to progress. We had the talent to continue to do very well. It has been a truly wonderful journey with them for me personally. We spent eight weeks together from the beginning of our training. It was wonderful. The disappointment is in the sporting aspect, but we had the opportunity to evoke emotions and millions of French people were able to feel them. This is the World Cup - there is nothing more beautiful than that," the FIFA press service quoted Deschamps as saying. Available for viewing on media.