Ousmane Dembélé, the 29-year-old Paris Saint-Germain and French national team striker, spoke to ESPN about the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off on June 11. The discussion focused on this being Didier Deschamps’ final tournament at the helm of Les Bleus. The Parisian number 10 was also asked to name the favorites for the World Cup.
Dembélé: “We’re going to do everything we can to succeed with him, because he deserves it.”
“We know this is the coach’s last tournament. He’s a top-level coach who has achieved excellent results with the French national team. We’re obviously delighted to have him with us. We’ve already played in the World Cup with him. That’s our main objective.
His departure doesn’t affect our mentality in this tournament; we want to finish strong with him by reaching the World Cup final. He’s a coach who has always relied on every single player on the French team.” He congratulates us and motivates us after every match. He’s very important to me personally, in my career. We’re going to do everything we can to succeed with him, because he deserves it.
Dembélé: “There are many favorites”
The favorites?
There are many favorites. Argentina are the reigning world champions and are therefore among the favorites for this competition. Spain is also a favorite, having won Euro 2024. England, Portugal, and Germany are also formidable teams.
There are also some very difficult teams to beat, like Brazil, Ecuador, and Portugal. It’s a tough competition. There are favorites, certainly, but once the matches start, it’s every player 11 against 11; there are no more favorites. I’m going to have to stay focused.
