France’s President Emmanuel Macron has rallied around the French national football team following the team’s 2-0 defeat to Spain in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 as he said the young squad is still “full of promise” even though the team’s disappointment remains tragic despite failing to deliver on a dream team’s performance that will take the French team to the next stage.
Macron’s reaction to the defeat was to congratulate Spain on the World Cup final and hailed Les Bleus for their efforts and determination in the tournament.
"Bravo to Spain for this qualification. Thank you to the Bleus for carrying our colours with commitment. Tonight's defeat is hard to take, but this team is young and full of promise," Macron wrote on X.
Spain to win World Cup.
Spain made it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final with a clinical performance at Dallas Stadium and defeated tournament favourite France 2-0.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Lucas Digne fouled teenage sensation Lamine Yamal inside the box.
And a couple of minutes later, full-back Pedro Porro doubled Spain's lead with a composed finish after an excellent through ball from Dani Olmo to complete a deserved victory.
Porro's all-round showing earned him the Player of the Match award.
Oyarzabal enters Spain's elite goalscoring list.
The semi-final victory also marked Oyarzabal's second personal milestone.
His penalty took him to 30 international goals, making him only the sixth player in Spain's history to achieve the landmark.
He joins an elite list with:
- David Villa (59)
- Raúl (44)
- Fernando Torres (38)
- Álvaro Morata (37)
- David Silva (35)
The Real Sociedad striker has now scored 18 goals in his last 20 appearances for Spain.
France unable to break through
France came into the game as slight favorites and produced early chances through captain Kylian Mbappé but Spain’s disciplined defence stood firm.
Goalkeeper Unai Simón made a number of big saves and defender Marc Cucurella made a crucial tackle to deny Mbappé a clear chance.
Didier Deschamps introduced Désiré Doué and Rayan Cherki to try and get the comeback going, but Spain controlled the tempo and comfortably saw out the match.
Spain looks to have a second World Cup title at hand.
Spain now faces the winner of the second semi-final between England and Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final at New York-New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.
La Roja are chasing their second FIFA World Cup title, having won their first in 2010 when Andrés Iniesta scored the famous extra-time winner against the Netherlands in South Africa.
France will play in the third-place playoff on Saturday, with Mbappé stepping up his bid for the Golden Boot in the tournament.
Despite disappointment, Macron's message spoke to a French football optimism about the future of the game and the country's young talent will have to bounce back much stronger in the years to come.
