Kylian Mbappe appeared to question Didier Deschamps' tactical approach after France crashed out of the World Cup with a painful 2-0 semi-final defeat to Spain on Tuesday.
Les Bleus arrived in Dallas hoping to reach a third consecutive World Cup final, but their hopes were extinguished as goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro secured Spain's place in Sunday's showpiece.
It proved to be a frustrating evening for Mbappe, who struggled to influence proceedings against Spain's disciplined defence.
The Real Madrid forward rarely threatened, with his only notable effort coming from a free-kick that sailed comfortably over the crossbar.
After the final whistle, however, Mbappe offered a brutally honest assessment of why France fell short - suggesting Spain were allowed too much freedom in midfield and hinting that Les Bleus' pressing strategy was flawed.
"We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that's hard," Mbappe admitted.
"Fabian [Ruiz] and Rodri had plenty of time to play.
"There was a lack of communication on the press. I think we should have done man-to-man press and force them to run with us."
The France captain also conceded that his side failed to execute either technically or tactically against the European giants, insisting Spain deserved their victory.
"We didn't play the game we wanted, technically, tactically," he continued.
"When you don't do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don't win.
"Spain respected their game plan and what the team usually does. They like to control the ball and the tempo. Our plan was to press them high so they could not install their rhythm.
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"Because they are better than us at controlling a game. We didn't manage to do it. We were too sloppy technically. We could not hurt them when we could have.
"Even when we recovered the ball, our first touches were not good enough. That gives a defeat.
"It is a huge disappointment. But if we are objective, we didn't put all the ingredients to go to the final."
France's disappointment was shared by Rayan Cherki, although the midfielder insisted the defeat did not change his belief that Les Bleus possess greater overall quality than their opponents.
"I am convinced that we are the better team, but this afternoon they were superior," Cherki said.
"They were better in every aspect of the game. They wanted it more than we did.
"They did not apply excessive pressure, it wasn't all over the pitch; there was time to play. Maybe we didn't know how to control our emotions."
Cherki admitted Spain consistently won the key battles across the pitch and punished France whenever possession changed hands.
"I don't know if we lacked solutions or desire," he added.
"Today, they recovered possession more easily than we did. If we had won back more balls, we would have hurt them more.
"At half-time, the coach told us there were still 50 minutes left and that we would have chances.
"The disappointment is enormous. We knew their main strength was playing at a slow pace. Sometimes, we should have done the same.
"It was more difficult than we expected. I tried to help push the comeback. I don't think it was a lack of desire. They were better than us tactically, better positioned. We tried to solve those problems. We are in a World Cup semifinal; everything comes down to the details."
The result sends Spain into the World Cup final, with England or Argentina lying in wait.
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