France trailed 4-0 at half-time after goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and a Bukayo Saka brace, before Kylian Mbappe's double and a Bradley Barcola strike hauled them back to within one. Saka's second-half penalty and a late Jude Bellingham goal ultimately proved decisive, sealing a 6-4 defeat that ended Deschamps' reign in charge of Les Bleus.
Speaking to M6 after the match, Deschamps accepted responsibility for the disastrous first-half display but pushed back against the idea that the tournament should be viewed solely through the lens of the defeat.
"When you're 4-0 down, you have an unpresentable first half," he said. "There was a reaction, of course, with what we know we can do well. We had two chances to equalise at 4-4. After that, we look forward a bit more. But that's what we know how to do. Unfortunately we didn't do it, but that's my fault because I didn't do what was needed in the first half either.
"But still, it resembles something, even if the defeat hurts. Obviously it would have been better to finish third. We went into it with a lot of ambition. We managed to do quite a few positive things. We got our match against Spain wrong, they were very effective against us."
Deschamps, 57, also reflected more broadly on the tournament and the group he leaves behind.
"Not everything should be thrown away," he said. "There is a squad with real, real footballing quality. There are quite a few young players who will still climb the levels. But there is really the material to keep achieving very, very good results. And on a human level, it has really been a wonderful adventure with them, because the eight weeks we spent together, since the start of preparation, were beautiful. That's part of the disappointment too.
"It's there, obviously, on the sporting side. But I think we also had the opportunity to create emotions, and that millions, tens of millions of French people were able, thanks to you, to share those emotions. Obviously the disappointment is there for us too. But that's it, that's the World Cup. It's wonderful, there's nothing more beautiful."
He closed by thanking those who worked alongside him during his tenure.
"I hear a lot of thank yous," Deschamps said. "I also thank a lot of people because I am not alone. I have a staff with me, with real ability. And then after that, these are choices of players, human choices too. Always this desire, this will to go as high as possible, to keep the France team right at the top. Because, I repeat: there is nothing more beautiful in a footballer's life than wearing this shirt."
Deschamps departs having won 122 of his 187 matches in charge, a reign that included France's 2018 World Cup triumph and a run to the 2022 final, making him the longest-serving manager and the most successful by wins in the national team's history.