France winger Ousmane Dembélé said the team’s aim is to end Didier Deschamps reign with the World Cup title. The Les Bleus had finished the previous edition of the quadrennial event as runners-up, losing to Argentina on penalties.
Deschamps has already announced his intention to step down as France coach following the conclusion of the World Cup.
“We know it’s the last competition for the coach [Deschamps],” Dembélé told ESPN on Saturday. “He’s a very high-level coach, who has a lot of results with the French team. We’re very happy to have him, of course. We already played the World Cup with him.
“That’s what we’re essentially focused on. His leaving isn’t really impacting our mentality in this tournament, we want to finish well with him by reaching the World Cup final. He’s a coach who has counted on each of these players in the French team. He sends us congratulations or motivates us after a match.
“He’s very important to me personally in my career. We’ll try to do well with him as a coach because he deserves it.”
Under Deschamps’ tutelage, France has won the 2018 World Cup and 2021 Nations League while also reaching the final of 2016 European Championship, 2022 World Cup final, and the 2024 European Championship semifinals.
Opening up on the favorites for the World Cup, the PSG player picked Argentina, Spain, England, Germany, and Portugal.
“There are many favorites, we know that Argentina is the reigning World Cup champions so obviously they are one of the favorites of this competition,” said Dembélé. “So is Spain, who won the Euro in 2024. England, Portugal, Germany. There are also very complicated teams like Brazil, Ecuador, and Portugal. It’s a difficult team.
“There are favorites but when the matches start it’s 11 against 11, there are no more favorites. I’ll have to stay focused.”
France will begin their World Cup campaign on June 16 against Senegal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
