Ousmane Dembele endured a nightmare World Cup final as he gave away a penalty and was hooked before the break in France’s dramatic defeat against Argentina.
Dembele was torn to shreds by British pundits for his calamitous role in a disastrous first half for Les Bleus. It was a forgettable 41-minute cameo role for the Barcelona forward, who was widely criticised for his performance.
Due to being withdrawn just before the break, neither Dembele nor Olivier Giroud were given a player rating by French newspaper L’Equipe, who did not hold back in a scathing final performance review of the wide-right forward.
Argentine winger Angel Di Maria went down under a challenge from Dembele midway through the first half, prompting 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 byline 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 minutes before the break by boss Didier Deschamps. Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram were introduced for Dembele and Olivier Giroud.
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France did not manage to muster an effort on target during Dembele’s time on the pitch or generate any meaningful attacks. Argentina targeted France's right flank, with Jules Kounde not a natural right-back and Dembele offering minimal defensive protection.
French newspaper L’Equipe described Dembele’s performance as: “Forty minutes unworthy of a World Cup final. Defensively, the Barcelona man was far too far from his direct opponents.
“He was put in the wind by Angel Di Maria before committing a questionable foul in the area to give away a penalty. Offensively, all of his first checks ended up at the opposing feet.”
Gary Neville was the most vocal critic of Dembele on British TV, declaring on ITV : "It's pathetic. Di Maria's position, well done to the manager, it's a genius selection, it's stretched that French team.
"[Alexis] Mac Allister has been in that pocket, they’ve (France) 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."
