The winger has grafted to lift France to another World Cup final but now wants to shine against former club-mate Lionel Messi
Ousmane Dembélé is a player who drifts in and out of focus. While Kylian Mbappé explodes down the left flank for France, Dembélé is more of a gliding presence on the opposite side. Sometimes marking him is like trying to catch smoke. The France winger has this lovely way of floating up the right, a softness to the way he dips inside and out, and when he is in full flow he is a bewitching sight, so slippery as he unbalances defenders with his feints, body swerves and zigzagging dribbling.
Those are the moments when it is easy to see why Barcelona, wounded after losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain, spent £97m on Dembélé five years ago. The problem, though, is there have not been enough good times for the 25-year-old. Sometimes he looks special but he often lets games pass him by, underlining why he barely featured for France in the four years leading up to this World Cup.
