Rodri and a lack of effort have put a damper on France’s celebrations

Absolute serenity and self-confidence turned into overconfidence and then into complacency one Texan afternoon. France, who had shone for their skill and ability to make the difficult look easy (often a relative concept, given that they had faced Senegal, Iraq, Norway, Sweden, Paraguay and Morocco along the way), lost to Spain in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup. A clear defeat, more for what was seen on the pitch than for the scoreline (0–2), the result of a complacency very similar to the huffing and puffing with trembling lips one sees across the Alps. France believed it could rely solely on itself, but that was not the case. The Spanish national team, led on the pitch by Rodri and from the bench by Luis de la Fuente, made this clear over ninety minutes of passing, movement and team play that was often flawless – and when it was not, was nevertheless rectified through selflessness and sacrifice.

Lack of effort is the worst thing that can happen on a football pitch. The Italian national team knows this all too well; their lack of effort meant they were able to enjoy their summer holidays to the full following the debacle in Zenica against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Germany know this all too well, having been sent home early from the World Cup in North America. The French national team realised this yesterday, unable to make sense of their semi-final against Spain.

What was once a hallmark of Iberian football – allowing oneself to be carried away by the supposed beauty of one’s own style of play – has spread to places where football was once all about sacrifice, self-denial and collective effort. Michael Platini said that the first European Championship won by France – his France – had indeed been determined by his own outstanding talent, that of Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Bruno Bellone, but above all by their ability to love and hate one another, whilst always bearing in mind that each was nothing without the others and that all were weaker without him, Michael Platini. Over the course of six matches, this concept was applied to perfection by Didier Deschamps’ France. It was not followed against Spain, a team which, by contrast, proved capable of moving as a single unit.

A unified team, guided behind the scenes by Rodri – one of the few players in the world capable of being indispensable without drawing attention to himself, without dribbling, without showing off with fancy footwork – is winning applause. Rodri hasn’t scored a goal or provided an assist at this World Cup; he hasn’t needed to. What he has done is to be perfect in everything he has done – even though what he has done, and continues to do, often goes unnoticed. If Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé were effectively absent during that afternoon in Texas whenever they ventured into the central areas of the pitch, the credit goes to Rodri and the way the Spanish player led his team-mates.

In a football scene shaped by skill and online communities, there is still some resistance that brings this sport back to its sporting roots rather than treating it purely as a pastime. It is a form of reaction to the prevailing trend, capable of setting things right and offering hope to those who could not care less about media exposure and those who have no interest whatsoever in becoming influencers of any kind.

Spain will play in the final of this World Cup, having turned 14 July into a rather sombre occasion for the French. Earlier that European afternoon, Tadej Pogačar had already made it a bitter pill for the French to swallow by dominating the tenth stage of the Tour de France in his own inimitable style.