Does Ousmane Dembélé fit in a France attack led by Mbappé and Olise?

“I f I start playing just to prove all of my critics wrong and to shut them up, I think I’d have to keep playing until I was 80,” said Kylian Mbappé as he wrote his name in the history books, surpassing Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer. He insists that his 57th and 58th goals for the national team – which secured a 3-1 win over Senegal in their World Cup opener – were not about “revenge”. But they were at least a response. Mbappé is not someone who does all his talking on the pitch. Speaking before Euro 2024, he referred to himself in the third person as he announced his opposition to far-right politicians. “Kylian Mbappé is against extreme views and against ideas that divide people,” he said two years ago . I want to be proud to represent France. I don’t want to represent a country that doesn’t correspond to my values, or our values.” The France captain made similar comments in the buildup to this World Cup. This time, his objection to the far right drew criticism from Michel Platini , who told Mbappé to remain politically neutral. “You are playing for all French people,” Platini said. “Once you take a stand, you fall out with half of the world.” Deschamps says that when Mbappé speaks, he knows he does so “for all the players” and his viewpoint is shared by the dressing room. It doesn’t make him popular, however. Polling shows that Mbappé’s popularity is on the slide and has been since his exit from Paris Saint-Germain two years ago. …