Dembélé, Ballon d'Or but a ghost for France: the impossible equation before France-Senegal

Ousmane Dembélé approaches the opening clash of the World Cup between France and Senegal on Tuesday at MetLife Stadium with a difficult-to-ignore statistical paradox: 2025 Ballon d’Or winner and two-time Ligue des Champions winner with PSG, the winger remains one of the least decisive players in recent French national team history in major competitions.

His international record speaks for itself. Seven goals in 59 caps — a total that Michael Olise has already matched after just 17 selections, the latest in the 3-1 victory over Northern Ireland. At the World Cup, the contrast is even more striking: of the 30 goals scored by France in the 2018 and 2022 editions, Kylian Mbappé was involved in 18 of them. Dembélé, meanwhile, contributed to only two.

This gap between club performances and national team output is not new, but it takes on particular significance as the World Cup approaches — one that the Blues, finalists in the last two editions and champions in 2018, are approaching with maximum ambitions. Didier Deschamps can count on a well-stocked attack — Mbappé leading the way, Olise on the rise — but a Dembélé at his best level would represent a considerable additional asset.

Nothing guarantees that the transformation observed at PSG over the past two years will translate under the French shirt. That is precisely where the concern lies: not in the attacker’s undeniable talent, but in his ability to finally align his two faces in the competition that matters most.