L'Equipe delivers its player ratings after France's World Cup exit - and they're brutal

News

Matthew Judge | Editor

France saw their hopes of winning a third World Cup come to an end after a bruising 2-0 loss to Spain in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

Les Bleus were second best for the entirety of the match as European champions Spain advanced to Sunday’s final with a dominant display.

After both sides sparkled en route to the last four, expectations were high ahead of what promised to be a mouth-watering encounter.

However, a penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and a strike from Pedro Porro saw Spain take France to the cleaners at the Dallas Stadium.

No sooner had the full-time whistle blown than football fans fired up their phones to check out L’Equipe’s reaction to the match.

And the knives were certainly out as the French newspaper dished out a set of brutal player ratings following France’s World Cup exit.

Three 2s, three 3s: L’Equipe slaughters dejected France

L’Equipe are well known for their strict player ratings, with the publication very rarely giving a player a perfect 10 out of 10.

However, the newspaper - which translates to ‘The Team’ in English and was founded in 1946 - had no such luxury on Tuesday.

After witnessing France limp out of the World Cup, L’Equipe let their feelings be known in a ruthless set of player ratings.

Scoring just the starting eleven and manager Didier Deschamps, L’Equipe handed out three scores of 2 and three scores of 3.

Among the players given a 2 out of 10 was Lucas Digne, who struggled all evening against Spain wonderkid Lamine Yamal.

Digne was completely unaware of Yamal when trying to make a clearance in the first half, resulting in the France left-back kicking the Spain star and conceding the penalty which Oyarzabal converted.

L’Equipe was also critical of France boss Deschamps’ decision to start Bradley Barcola ahead of Desire Doue, in what was his final game in charge of the national team as he prepares to step down after 14 years at the helm.

Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot can be considered the lucky ones as the France trio earned scores of 5 out of 10.

France’s player ratings from L’Equipe

Mike Maignan - 4/10

Jules Kounde - 5/10

Dayot Upamecano - 5/10

William Saliba - N/A

Lucas Digne - 2/10

Aurelien Tchouameni - 3/10

Adrien Rabiot - 5/10

Ousmane Dembele - 2/10

Michael Olise - 2/10

Bradley Barcola - 4/10

Kylian Mbappe - 3/10

Didier Deschamps - 3/10

L’Equipe’s ratings, including their comments, can be viewed HERE.

What next for France following World Cup exit?

Deschamps may have missed out on a fairytale ending as France boss, but he has been nothing short of remarkable since taking over in 2012.

The 57-year-old became the third man after Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer to win the World Cup as a player and a manager when coaching France to their 2018 success in Russia.

Deschamps also led France to the 2022 showpiece in Qatar, with his side losing 4-2 on penalties against Argentina following a 3-3 draw.

France are expected to replace Deschamps with Zinedine Zidane, who has been out of work since leaving Real Madrid in 2021.

Zidane, who - like Deschamps - helped France win their maiden World Cup as a player in 1998 - lifted 11 trophies across two spells as Real manager, including three successive Champions League titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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