Aged 25, Ousmane Dembélé will play his second World Cup with the France team after being crowned world champion in Russia in 2018. Profile, statistics, career with the France team and state of form for the World Cup …
Ousmane Dembélé was selected by Didier Deschamps on November 9 to play in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with the France team. The FC Barcelona winger does not leave as an indisputable holder, with the presence of Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema or Antoine Griezmann, but he should have his chance during the match and could make the difference for the Blues in this role at the World Cup.
Ousmane Dembélé had a fairly linear career with the France team. Called first among young people (U17, U18, U19 and Espoirs), he had his first selection for the Blues at 19, when he came into play in a friendly match against Italy on September 1. 2016. Very quickly, the French winger will not leave the group of Didier Deschamps who makes him one of his basic men. He scored his first goal with the Blues in a match against England in June 2017. Logically called up for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Ousmane Dembélé started the first match of the group stage against Australia (2- 1), but the sluggish match of the Blues encourages Didier Deschamps to change his plans. The French winger comes out of the starting XI and will only come into play against Uruguay in the quarter-finals (0-2) during the final phase. Caught up by injuries and his inconstancy, Ousmane Dembélé will spend almost two and a half years away from the France team, between November 2018 and March 2021, when he was recalled by Didier Deschamps with the Blues. Just in time to then be integrated into the French selection to compete in Euro 2021. Facing Hungary, he comes into play, even hits the opposing post before injuring himself at the end of the game. A match that looks like him, unfortunately. Since then, he has played only one match with the France team. It was during the last rally in September, when he returned late in the game against Austria. He has 28 selections with the Blues for 4 goals.
Born in Eure on May 15, 1997, Ousmane Dembélé was destined very early for a career as a professional footballer. In 2004, he joined ALM Evreux and took his first steps in the field. After 5 seasons in the junior course, he joined Evreux FC. He also tried his hand at futsal and wasted no time in getting noticed by recruiters from Stade Rennes, Stade Malherbe in Caen and even Le Havre AC. From 2010 to 2015, he completed his training in Brittany. In 2013 and 2014, he was also selected 8 times for the France team, during which he scored 4 goals. In the French amateur championship 2, the player notably scored 13 goals in 18 games. Ousmane Dembélé’s professional career began in 2015.
He discovered Ligue 1 with Stade Rennes. In 29 games, he scored 12 goals and 5 assists. Ousmane Dembélé won the UNFP player of the month trophy in March 2016 after scoring two goals in a match against Reims. But the few months of collaboration with Rennes are complicated, in particular because of his salary demands. For 15 million euros, his transfer is recorded at the end of the season for Borussia Dortmund, which he joined in the summer of 2016. Only three months after the start of his contract, he becomes a regular player and participates in the Bundesliga . During 50 games played, he scored ten goals. In August 2017, the player was sanctioned by the club for not showing up during training.
In mid-2017, Ousmane Dembélé now plays for FC Barcelona, who see him as the replacement for Neymar, who left for PSG. His transfer is estimated at more than 105 million euros, making it one of the most expensive transfers in football. Since then, his career has had its ups and downs, notably due to injuries, and he has not yet reached the level one would have imagined, given his potential. Which did not prevent him from being crowned world champion
with the Blues in 2018.
Ousmane Dembélé has become a different player for a few months and he seems to have put his physical problems behind him. His last big injury dates back to Euro 2021 with the Blues, during the match against Hungary. The FC Barcelona winger seems to have finally understood the rhythm of life of a professional player, after years spent injuring himself, which could have been frustrating for him, for his clubs and for the France team. His personal situation is certainly no stranger to this development, since Ousmane Dembélé married in December 2021 and now leads a tidy life. The French international is also in a stable situation in the club, since he recently extended his contract with Barça until 2024. A club where he arrived more than five years ago, in the summer of 2017.