In the 2026 World Cup semi-finals, the French national team faced Spain at the Dallas Stadium this Tuesday, losing 0-2. Six Paris Saint-Germain players were involved in the match: five for France—Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé—and one for Spain, Fabian Ruiz. Here are the press ratings for Les Bleus.
Le Parisien:
Mbappé (3.5)
Barcola (3) – Olise (2.5) – Dembélé (3)
Rabiot (5) / Koné (3.5) – Tchouaméni (4)
Digne (2.5) – Lacroix (5) – Upamecano (4.5) – Koundé (3.5)
Maignan (4)
L’Equipe:
Mbappé (3)
Barcola (4) – Olise (2) – Dembélé (2)
Rabiot (5) / Koné (4) – Tchouaméni (3)
Digne (2) – Lacroix (5) – Upamecano (5) – Koundé (5)
Maignan (4)
These are grimly accurate ratings for a team that was outclassed both collectively and individually. No one managed to lift the squad to turn around a game clearly controlled by Spain. Dayot Upamecano did make a few crucial defensive interventions, but it wasn’t enough to earn a spot in the final. France was dominated and leaves with the feeling that they simply weren’t at the level required to compete.
