Why did Dembele prefer his earlier World Cup performances?

Question

Accepted Answer

Dembele said he preferred his earlier World Cup performances because he felt he was more influential in those matches than in his hat-trick vs Norway.

Dembele insisted that his 4-1 win over Norway, where he scored a hat-trick in 26 minutes, was his least impressive performance of the tournament so far. He said he preferred how he played against Senegal and Iraq because he believed he was “much more influential” in those games.
He rated the Norway match as his least impressive
Dembele scored three goals in the first half against Norway and was praised for his finishing, but he still characterised the performance as his least impressive so far in the tournament. France also completed the group stage with three wins out of three, after earlier victories against Senegal and Iraq.
He linked his preference to being “more influential” vs Senegal and Iraq
Dembele explicitly contrasted Norway with his earlier matches, saying he preferred his performances against Senegal or Iraq. He added that France needed to stay fully concentrated because there were “important things ahead,” framing his comments around how he felt his impact compared across games.
His influence was not only about scoring
In the same tournament run, France’s goals were shared among PSG players, with Dembele joined by Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola, while Kylian Mbappe scored in the first two games but did not score against Norway. Guy Stephan described these PSG-based players as ones who can “take players on,” “score goals,” and “set up goals,” which provides context for what “influential” can mean beyond goals alone.
The hat-trick was a standout moment, but not the one he valued most
Dembele’s Norway hat-trick was only the fourth by a France player at a World Cup, and it came after he had previously not scored in World Cup matches before breaking his duck against Iraq on his 13th tournament appearance. Even with that achievement, Dembele still pointed to Senegal and Iraq as the games where he felt his overall impact was greater.

Reading history

Hide →

This history is cleared when the page is closed.

Why did Dembele prefer his earlier World Cup performances?

Loading

Was this article helpful?

Helpful

Not helpful

Report an issue

1

0

0

Share with friends