France finally scored on their own from the flow of play after 489 minutes at Euro 2024, and Kylian Mbappe could finally shed the face mask that had bothered him so much.
But it was all to no avail as Les Bleus went out at the penultimate hurdle with a 2-1 defeat against form team Spain in Munich.
Randal Kolo Muani's headed Les Bleus ahead in the ninth minute but 16-year-old Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo reversed matters midway through the first half.
France failed to reach a fourth major final in eight years as coach Didier Deschamps remained unfulfilled at the Euros. He has won the World Cup as a player in 1998 and coach in 2018, and the Euros as a player in 2000.
He came closest as a coach in 2016 whe France lost the final of the home tournament against Portugal while this time the semi-finals were the end against Spain.
"We were able to open the scoring, which was great. Spain mastered the game better than us, though. We didn't perform that well, we didn't play as vertically as I wanted. We pushed all the way to the end," Deschamps said.
France had reached their fourth major semi-final in eight years with just three goals, two own goals and an Mbappe penalty. The key was defence where they had only let in a penalty in the previous five games.
But Spain then scored twice, while several chances including from Mbappe, who had broken his nose in France's opener, went begginng at the other end.
"You need to be as relaxed as possible and hit the target. This is what we've been missing," Deschamps said.
"Nevertheless, we made it to the semi-final and found a way to score, thanks to Kolo. It would have been better if we'd been as efficient as we had been before."
Forward Antoine Griezmann, who didn't start on the night, said that "We are all upset and sad.
"Defensively, we were very good throughout the Euros, but offensively, we missed too many chances and that hurt us," he said.
Deschamps praised Spain as "a great team" who "were better on the ball" on the night.
Veteran forward and Frech record scorer Olivier Giroud, who came on late, ad maybe others, is retiring but Deschamps said that he is upbeat for the future.
“We have a lot of young players in our squad, which will help us for the future,” Deschamps said, looking ahead at the future with the 2026 World Cup and qualifying starting next year.
Griezmann agreed, vowing: "We will be back."
Whether or not that will be with Deschamps remains to be seen. He has been in charge since 2012 and his latest contract runs until 2026.
But the French federation leadership has changed, and former France great and Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane would be available, having long been considered a successor for Deschamps.
Deschamps would not comment, saying: "I just lost the semi-final. Ask my president. I am not going to answer this question."
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