Gary Neville did not hold back in his criticism of France forward Ousmane Dembele for his role in Argentina’s penalty in the World Cup final.
Angel Di Maria went down under a challenge from Dembele midway through the first half which prompted Polish referee Szymon Marciniak to instantly point to the penalty spot. Lionel Messi stepped up to convert the penalty and give Argentina the lead in the encounter.
It was a somewhat contentious decision as Di Maria appeared to go down under minimal contact but Dembele’s defensive contribution in the move was lamentable; missing his initial challenge on his opponent on the by-line to allow him to cut inside and be the wrong side of him in the area.
That was the low moment in a forgettable 41 minutes for Dembele, who was hooked off the pitch five minutes before the break by boss Didier Deschamps. Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram were introduced for Dembele and Olivier Giroud.
France did not offer any attacking threat whatsoever during Dembele’s time on the pitch with zero attempts on goal during that spell, as the reigning world champions finding themselves two goals down as Di Maria doubled the Argentina lead in the 36 th minute.
However, it was Dembele’s role in the penalty decision midway through the first half that drew the ire and criticism of Neville at half-time. It was highlighted how the Barcelona forward’s positioning throughout the move was all wrong and that he was hugely naïve by making the challenge inside the area.
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Neville explained on ITV Sport: “Ah, it’s pathetic. Di Maria’s position, selection, well done to the manager it’s a genius selection, it’s stretched that French team. Mac Allister has been that pocket, they’ve not been able to cope with it, Messi has come to the right-hand side.
“The penalty, I have to say, Dembele although he’s a wide player, what he does, this initial challenge… you know what Di Maria’s going to do he’s been doing it for 10 years. It’s embarrassing.
“I’m torn between one, I think it’s a soft penalty but also stupidity and to get on the wrong side, you deserve to be found out. Dembele gets found out, he’s looking for it, he knows what he’s doing but Dembele gets played like a little boy.”
