Ousmane Dembele sends sincere advice to Kylian Mbappe, in the hope of reclaiming the World Cup golden trophy for the French national team.
The French national team is entering its final preparation phase ahead of the 2026 World Cup Finals. Kylian Mbappe remains the number one hope for “Les Bleus”, but it would be an oversight to ignore Ousmane Dembele.
The 2025 Ballon d’Or winner continued to shine last season, scoring in the Champions League Final and helping Paris Saint-Germain successfully defend their silver trophy. L’Equipe revealed that with his standing in the dressing room, Dembele directly made a request to Mbappe.
The former Barcelona star asked the Real Madrid pillar to contribute more defensively for the French national team. Dembele emphasized to Mbappe that the playing style of “Les Bleus” differs from “Los Blancos” and that his attacking teammate needs to play for the collective.
Limitations in defensive ability were the main reason why Mbappe could not fully integrate into the tactical system operated by coach Luis Enrique at PSG. After he left, Dembele, with his high-pressing efforts, was highly utilized by the Spanish manager during their back-to-back Champions League winning campaigns.
There will certainly be no shortage of opinions defending Mbappe’s privilege of being exempt from defensive duties. Allowed to focus entirely on hunting for goals, the French national team captain has proven his world-class caliber with 4 goals across the last two World Cup Finals.
