L’Équipe condemns Ousmane Dembélé's flop for France

Ousmane Dembélé gave a very poor impression on Monday evening in the French national team; after sixty minutes he was substituted for Michael Olise, after which France, without him, secured a 4-1 victory over Belgium. The French media emphasized the disappointment and praised the opponent.

Dembélé started in the lineup, but after sixty minutes he was replaced by Michael Olise. In the final phase France turned a 0-1 deficit into a 4-1 win, without Dembélé playing a role.

L’Équipe expressed its displeasure with the forward's performance. ‘His statistics with France highlight an ever‑growing gap between his reputation and his international reality’, wrote the outlet.

Dembélé, ghost captain, sees his starting spot threatened by Belgium

Statistics that underline the disappointment

Dembélé has 13 goals in 71 internationals, a figure that L’Équipe labels as ‘a real disaster’. Against Belgium he recorded five shots, the most of the French, but none found the net.

He lost the ball 22 times, which according to L’Équipe was the worst statistic of the evening. This inefficiency was sharply criticised by the press.

Olise lights up the Blues while Mbappé and Dembélé fade

In just thirty minutes defender Joaquin Seys of Belgium, here referred to as Belgi, saw ‘a thousand times more’ of Olise than in an hour against Dembélé. The contrast underscores the disappointment surrounding Dembélé's contribution.