France’s Ousmane Dembélé irritated teammates by criticising pressing tactics against Spain | OneFootball

Outclassed by Spain (2-0) on Tuesday, France were never able to turn the tide and rekindle their hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final. And this was despite Ousmane Dembélé (29) addressing the team at half-time, when Les Bleus were trailing by just one goal.

Dissatisfied with his team’s poorly coordinated pressing, the Paris Saint-Germain player reportedly voiced his frustration to his team-mates, some of whom were left annoyed, according to information from L’Équipe. The latter felt that the reigning Ballon d’Or winner only got worked up when he himself was in trouble, rather than doing so in other circumstances as well.

Such tension was unmistakable given the difficulties faced by Didier Deschamps’ men against La Roja, who never seemed to be put under any real pressure by Dembélé and his teammates.

Before returning to France and their respective clubs, the French team will play their final match of the tournament against England on Saturday, in the third-place play-off.

GFFN | Léo Aschi