By the end, Kylian Mbappe, the form player of the tournament, could only screw up his nose in frustration. Already booked for a lunge on the Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon, Mbappe then smashed a free-kick over the bar.In a World Cup semi-final, it did not happen for Real Madrid’s Mbappe, the second highest World Cup goalscorer of all time. It also did not happen for Ousmane Dembele, the Paris Saint-Germain winger who currently holds the Ballon d’Or. Neither, too, for Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, the man who has orchestrated goals, almost at will, over the past season. When France reached for the aces in their pack — first Desire Doue of PSG, and then Rayan Cherki of Manchester City — it would not happen for them, either.In the aftermath of this semi-final, questions will be asked of the French coach Didier Deschamps and his set of star-studded players, who appeared to so many destined for glory. Cherki, for one, told reporters that Spain “lost against ourselves”.Yet this result was no accident. Spain were not in the trenches. Their goalkeeper Unai Simon did not make a great save. They did not sit back and frustrate France. They had more ball, they made more passes, and just as many shots.Any sane French analysis of this exit must recognise the second team in the arena, who delivered one of the all-time great collective World Cup performances.To most observers (including this one), France had been the competition’s outstanding side during the group stages and early knockout rounds of the competition. Yet within the Spain camp, a steely defiance remained. Lamine Yamal, Spain’s star boy, turned 19 on Monday and spent much of the past week insisting it was the French, rather than the Spanish, who ought to be worried. Yamal spent Monday at training in the morning, then a press conference and show in the afternoon, and then he popped along to cut his three-year-old brother Keyne’s hair in the evening.“There are much harder things in life than a football match,” Yamal said. “It’s a game, I know what I’m capable of and I’m not worried about anything.”Lamine Yamal is a star but knows he has to work hard (Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images)The Spanish confidence was not without foundation. This is a nation which won the UEFA Nations League in 2023, reaching the final again in 2025, while winning the Euros in between. Along that stretch of form, they have now beaten Italy twice, England, Germany, Norway, Portugal and Belgium. Oh, and France — three times. They are now 37 games unbeaten, the joint longest streak in men’s international history. Deschamps could hardly say he had not been warned.It did not help France’s case that they appeared to turn up in Arlington and presume they could adopt exactly the same game plan as every previous World Cup match and sweep to victory. On this occasion, Deschamps did not seem to account for Spain being a different opponent with a specific plan which could at once combat French strengths while targeting their weaknesses.