World Cup: Ousmane Dembélé’s ruthless streak has been months in the making | OneFootball

Behind Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé is delivering his best tournament for France, less flashy but far more clinical. The shift began at Paris Saint-Germain, where a move into central areas under Luis Enrique early in 2025 coincided with a harder gaze, sharper focus and greater ownership of leadership and messaging.

“His eyes, what you could see in them, he was not like that before. I know Ousmane. I know when he is motivated, and I know when he is determined. There is a difference. It was very clear. You could not stop him,” said his long-time friend Moustapha Diatta in January, speaking to France Football.

Last Thursday he struck the second in a 2-0 quarter-final win over Morocco. Across six matches at this World Cup he has five goals, almost half of his France return of 12 from 65 caps.

The carefree joker has made way for a competitor obsessed with winning. He remains a lively presence with team-mates, yet on the pitch and in public he has embraced the hard-edged identity the Bleus have adopted during this World Cup.

Criticism early at PSG and at the start of the tournament did not rattle him. After his Ballon d’Or push in September he told those close to him that nothing had changed, and his appetite for collective and individual honours only grew. He says he feels very good on the right, is building rhythm, is pleased but knows he can improve, and he wants to go all the way.

At 29, he leads collectively, happily shifting wide to free Mbappé centrally and taking the knocks for the team. If France win the competition, Dembélé would join Désiré Doué, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Bradley Barcola and Lucas Hernandez in the select group to claim the Champions League and the World Cup in the same year. Only about a dozen have done it, including Christian Karembeu in 1998 and Raphaël Varane in 2018, both with Real Madrid.

Source: L'Équipe