ARLINGTON, United States — France coach Didier Deschamps said his players were left “devastated” by their World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain on Tuesday before aiming a barb at match referee Ivan Barton from El Salvador.

Deschamps’ free-flowing French team had dazzled the competition en route to the last four, rattling in 16 goals in six games to earn comparisons to some of the greatest teams in World Cup history.

But France’s dreams of a third World Cup title were left in tatters after a dominant Spanish performance that left Deschamps, who is stepping down after the tournament, struggling for answers.

“Of course, there is a lot of disappointment,” Deschamps said immediately after the defeat at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“The players are devastated because we had a lot of ambition, even though we also have to be realistic and acknowledge that today we were a notch below on the technical level against a team that controlled the game well.

“But first of all, it’s our fault, I don’t want to blame anyone.”

Deschamps though could not resist firing a shot at referee Barton, who had awarded Spain an early penalty after Lucas Digne kicked Lamine Yamal in the first half.

“I’ll ask a loaded question and I won’t answer it,” Deschamps said. “Is the referee at the level required to officiate a World Cup semi-final?

“And I’m not saying this just because we lost today. There were quite a few situations. There were some favourable calls, too,” he said, without elaborating.