Didier Deschamps says refereeing could’ve been better in Argentina vs France World Cup final

France were defeated by Argentina in a nail-biting final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Sunday, 18 December. While it was one of the best football matches in World Cup history, there were some questions raised about the refereeing by France manager Didier Deschamps.

Les Bleus started the game poorly and conceded two goals before halftime. However, Kylian Mbappe's late heroics forced the contest into extra time. Messi gave Argentina the lead yet again in the 108th minute. However, Mbappe was the savior once more as he converted a penalty in the 118th minute.

Les Bleus eventually lost the game via penalties. Kingsley Coman's effort was saved by Emiliano Martinez while Aurelien Tchouameni's shot was well wide of the post. La Albicelste scored from all of their spot kicks.

Deschamps reacted to the FIFA World Cup final as he said after the game (via Sportstar):

“If you look at the match as a whole, in the first 70 minutes or so, we were playing an aggressive and dynamic opponent. We were not up to that level for whatever reason. But we managed to come back from death and there’s regret as in extra-time, we could have won in the last minute. It went to the penalties... I must congratulate Argentina for a courageous performance.”

He further added:

"We lacked a bit of energy. A few of our key players lacked that energy. Few inexperienced players brought some freshness and quality and kept the dream alive. But unfortunately, that was not enough.”

Deschamps was also critical of the referee's decision to award Argentina a penalty in the first half. The France coach said:

“You saw it as well as I did. The refereeing could have been worse but it could have been better also. There were some decisions that have been questioned. I had said earlier that Argentina has been lucky and I don’t want to take anything away from them as they deserve the title. I discussed with the referee after the game and I don’t want to discuss that here."

Didier Deschamps reacted to France ace Kylian Mbappe winning the Golden Boot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot

Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup final. The goals took his tally to eight in the tournament and also sealed his status as the winner of the Golden Boot award.

Deschamps reacted to the France ace's performance, saying:

“It was the World Cup of records tonight. Many players brought records in this World Cup and Kylian left his mark in this final. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the reward for his efforts (the World Cup trophy).”