Ousmane Dembele ruled out of remainder of Euro 2020 with knee injury

Ousmane Dembele has been ruled out of remainder of the Euros with a knee injury. The Barcelona winger had been brought on as a second half substitute to help out in the attack. The 57th minute substitute came on for Adrien Rabiot but had to be subbed out later on due to a knee problem.

While it is really unfortunate that Ousmane Dembele will take no further part in the finals, France have bigger problems to ponder about. In their current setup, they don’t use wingers and even without Dembele’s presence, they still have Kingsley Coman and Thomas Lemar waiting in the wings.

When Dembele was introduced against Hungary around the hour mark, France were still trailing 1-0. Griezmann’s 66th minute goal brought them level but the match ended in a draw. France were expected to win the game and now face a battle against Portugal on the final day of the group stage.

France were in a great place after winning their first match against Germany, but now face the danger of finishing as low as third. Currently they are still in first place with 4 points but Germany and Portugal are breathing down their neck on 3 points. If the duo were to win their final matches, that’ll leave France stranded on 4 points. In that case, their points will be compared to other 3rd placed teams.

France’s major issue so far has been their attack. They are still very defensively sound but they aren’t able to create many noteworthy chances. Didier Deschamps has confirmed that he still believes in Karim Benzema’s ability and will continue to trust him.

“Benzema has a lot of experience and he will have no doubts about himself”, the Bleus head coach told his post-match press conference.

“He has done very good things, but he has lacked a goal. He knows people want him to score, but he knows it’s just about that. He is a striker that needs to score but the essential thing is that he has confidence and that he knows he has mine.”