Dembélé opens up about the World Cup and Deschamps' departure | OneFootball

Ousmane Dembélé, the 29-year-old forward for Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team, spoke to ESPN about the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off on June 11. He notably discussed this final tournament for head coach Didier Deschamps in charge of Les Bleus. The Parisian number 10 was also asked to name the favorites for this World Cup.

Dembélé: “We are going to do everything we can to succeed with him, because he deserves it.”

We know that this is the coach’s last tournament. He is a top-level manager who has achieved excellent results with the France team. We are obviously delighted to have him with us. We have already played in a World Cup with him. That is our main objective.

His departure does not affect our mentality in this tournament; we want to finish well with him by reaching the World Cup final. He is a coach who has always counted on every player in the France team. He congratulates us and motivates us after every match. He is very important to me personally in my career. We are going to do everything we can to succeed with him, because he deserves it.

Dembélé: “There are a lot of favorites”

The favorites?

There are a lot of favorites. Argentina are the reigning world champions and are therefore among the favorites in this competition. Spain are as well, having won Euro 2024. England, Portugal and Germany are also formidable teams.

There are also teams that are very difficult to beat, such as Brazil, Ecuador and Portugal. It is a difficult competition. There are favorites, of course, but once the matches begin, it is always 11 against 11, there are no more favorites. I will have to stay focused.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.