Something’s wrong with Dembélé
The Ballon d’Or’s performances for the French national team contrast with those he delivered for PSG. He is still not clicking with Mbappé on the field.
The performances of Ousmane Dembélé for the French national team stand in stark contrast to those he has produced for Paris Saint-Germain. His last two appearances for the World Cup runners-up, against Ivory Coast and Northern Ireland, have drawn heavy criticism in France, with some even calling for him to be left out of the World Cup squad. For Didier Deschamps, however, there is no debate. The attacker remains untouchable in his plans and will not be benched, at least not for France’s World Cup opener against Senegal on June 16.
In 59 appearances for Les Bleus, Dembélé has scored just 7 goals. Along the way, he has endured numerous injuries, the most serious coming just before Euro 2021, and he was substituted before half-time in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina. Deschamps has repeatedly tried to place him in the best possible conditions, but the French national team is not PSG. The style of play is different, the teammates are different, and so far “Ous” has struggled to feel comfortable in that environment.
Some prominent voices have linked his underwhelming form to his role on the pitch. At PSG, Dembélé operates as a false nine with the freedom to drift into central areas. With France, however, everything revolves around Kylian Mbappé. The Real Madrid forward occupies the spaces between the lines and, indirectly, many of the areas where Dembélé is most influential. Despite years of sharing a dressing room, the pair have yet to consistently bring out the best in one another on the international stage.
A return to the right wing is not an option either, as Michael Olise has made that position his own. One of the most in-form players in world football, Olise has reached another level in recent months, highlighted by his hat-trick against Northern Ireland on Monday. Deschamps deployed a variation of a 4-2-3-1 system during the friendlies, but Dembélé has struggled to find the ideal role that would allow him to replicate the outstanding form he has shown for PSG, where he has been instrumental in the club’s back-to-back Champions League triumphs.
“I would have liked to see Mbappé play 45 minutes in the preparatory matches in the position that suits him best. You have to field a lineup with Olise on the right, Dembélé in the middle and Mbappé on the left. Is that forbidden? We keep sacrificing the Ballon d’Or. We are the only country that doesn’t play the Ballon d’Or in his natural position. I’m afraid we look like the stupidest,” Jean-Michel Larqué said recently on RMC Sport, expressing his frustration with Dembélé’s role.
For Deschamps, however, moving Mbappé is not even a consideration. That would be a bold decision. As captain, he is expected to play in his preferred position. “He is playing in the role he has occupied for the last three years with PSG and Real Madrid,” Deschamps said. As a result, it is Dembélé, not Mbappé, who is expected to adapt for the good of the collective and help create a more effective attacking partnership.
Dembélé’s Ballon d’Or victory has increased his influence within the squad. He has emerged as one of the dressing room’s leaders and even encouraged Mbappé, in a friendly manner, to increase his defensive work rate in pursuit of World Cup glory. Yet that leadership has not translated into performances on the pitch for France. The World Cup begins on June 16 against Senegal, and France are already in Boston. Deschamps still has time to fine-tune a system that accommodates all of his key players, especially Dembélé, whose role remains one of the team’s most difficult puzzles to solve.
Dembélé 🫣#UCL pic.twitter.com/bQKepTHsF1
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 8, 2026
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