France, led by Kylian Mbappé, was overturned by Spain on Tuesday, July 9th in the Euro 2024 semi-finals, with a score of 2-1.
Didier Deschamps’ team will not contest their fourth final in five consecutive tournaments, undone by a brilliant Spanish side with strong nerves.
“We were late, we lacked energy, freshness (…) We had technical wastage,” analyzed the manager speaking to beIN Sports.
“We didn’t do enough to reach the final,” regretted France’s captain, Kylian Mbappé.
“Football sometimes, you shouldn’t complicate it too much, you’re good or you’re not. I wasn’t good, and that’s why we’re going home. It’s simple (…)
I’ve had a disappointing competition. We had the ambition to be European champions, but we’re not.
That’s football, you have to move on. The season has been long, I’ll go on vacation to rest,” he added.
The match started well for Les Bleus in Munich, with an early goal from Randal Kolo Muani (12th minute, 0-1). However, Spain quickly responded with goals from Lamine Yamal (21st minute) and Dani Olmo (25th minute, deflected by Jules Koundé).
Exiting the tournament will leave regrets for the French, who were much more impressive in the semi-final than in their previous five matches. Their previously solid defense collapsed in just four minutes, ending their hopes of reaching the final and winning the title, three years after an early elimination in the round of 16.
At kickoff, Deschamps opted to bench his key playmaker, Antoine Griezmann, who has struggled since the start of the tournament.
Griezmann was replaced by Ousmane Dembélé, who started on the right wing of the attack alongside Mbappé on the left and Kolo Muani in the center.
All three attackers contributed to France’s opening goal: Dembélé’s pass to the left, Mbappé’s perfect cross, and Kolo Muani’s header.
France’s first goal from open play, following own goals and a penalty, was quickly overshadowed by Spain’s relentless attacks.
Yamal, the FC Barcelona prodigy, struck a powerful left-footed shot beyond Mike Maignan’s reach to equalize, becoming, at 16 years and 362 days, the youngest scorer in European Championship history.
Minutes later, Dani Olmo scored again with a right-footed shot, deflected into his own net by Koundé.
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