Mbappe, Dembele, Olise not featured for France: Patrick Vieira on Spain defeat
France legend and 1998 World Cup winner Patrick Vieira ripped into Les Bleus after their semi-final defeat to Spain, saying Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise simply “didn’t turn up” on the biggest night of their World Cup campaign.
France beat Spain 2-0 in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ending their hopes of a third successive final. Speaking on ITV after the match, Vieira said France were second best in every department and insisted Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise failed to produce when their country needed them most.
France vs Spain FIFA World Cup 2026: HIGHLIGHTS
“Spain won the game in every way. The French team didn’t show up at all,” Vieira said.
“I said before that Spain needed to be at their best to beat the French team and they did.
The former France captain was particularly disappointed with Michael Olis, who has been one of Didier Deschamps’ most influential players throughout the tournament but struggled to make ends meet against Spain’s relentless pressure.
“Olise was the main man, we needed him to get on the ball, but they stopped him in the game, he didn’t get on the ball,” added Vieira.
Vieira believed the disappointment went beyond the result itself and pointed to France’s collective failure on one of the biggest nights of the tournament.
“It was a big expectation for France to win the World Cup. We are all really disappointed with the result, but mainly with the performance.”
“We needed our best players to perform today and they didn’t. It wasn’t one or two, it was all of them together. It was really bad.”
Spain’s tactical discipline proved too much for France as goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro sealed a deserved victory in Dallas. Luis de la Fuente’s side controlled much of the match and restricted Mbappe, Dembele and Olise to fleeting moments as France exited the tournament without ever threatening a comeback.
HOW SPAIN OFF FRANCE
Spain’s victory was built on both discipline and attacking quality. La Roja denied France time on the ball, filling Olise whenever he got into central areas and cutting off deliveries to Mbappe and Dembele.
The plan worked out to perfection. France struggled to create clear-cut chances all evening while Spain looked to be in control from the opening whistle before putting the game in doubt with two well conceded goals.
For a French team that entered the tournament as one of the favourites, it was a surprisingly balanced attacking display against the first elite opposition they faced in the knockout rounds. The French players just couldn’t switch to their usual brilliance vs. Spain. (Photo: Reuters)
WHAT NEXT TO SPAIN?
Spain are now one win away from winning their second FIFA World Cup title and will go into Sunday’s final full of confidence after knocking out one of the pre-tournament favourites.
La Roja will face the winners of the second semi-final between defending champions Argentina and England. After knocking out Portugal, Belgium and now France in successive knockout games, Luis de la Fuente’s side have strengthened their position as the team to beat at the 2026 World Cup.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
Jul 15, 2026 04:56 IST