India, July 15 -- On the back of France's 2-0 defeat to Spain in the World Cup semi-finals, the French media were ruthless in characterising the performance as powerless in attack and lacking a plan B, in contrast to the surgical efficiency of Spain's style of play.

At the centre of much of this criticism were left-back Lucas Digne for giving away the penalty, captain Kylian Mbappe for registering more offsides than shots on target, and head coach Didier Deschamps for being tactically schooled by Luis de la Fuente for the third consecutive summer.

Once teammates of Deschamps in France's victorious 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 sides, Thierry Henry and Emmanuel Petit also commented.

"If you're not at the races right from the start, it's ...