Didier Deschamps, coach of the French national football team, took responsibility for the 'unacceptable' collapse in the first half in the 4-6 loss to England on Saturday, in the World Cup third-place match, as his exceptional 14-year tenure ended painfully. France fell behind 4-0 in the first half before fighting back strongly, but it was not enough to prevent Deschamps' 185th and final match as coach from ending in defeat. Deschamps said in post-match comments: 'It's a defeat, but we were down 0-4. We gave an unacceptable performance in the first half. There was a reaction, with the things we know how to do well. We had two chances to make it 4-4, but we pushed forward a bit more... It's my fault because I didn't do what was required in the first half.' He added that the performance after the break restored at least some pride, although he acknowledged that the sporting disappointment felt by France in the tournament remains great after they arrived in North America with ambitions of winning a third world title. He explained: 'It would have been better to finish the race in third place. We came here with great ambition. We managed to achieve several positive things that are not bad... We failed against Spain, and they knew how to play against us. We should not give up everything. This is a group with high football competence. They had enough talent to achieve results.' Deschamps led France to win the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 UEFA Nations League, and also reached the finals of Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup. Deschamps won the 1998 World Cup with France as a player, and won the European Championship two years later, before becoming only the third man to win the World Cup as both player and coach when the French team triumphed in Russia in 2018.