"Dembele has not been transformed, but his efficiency is very high at the moment"

France coach Didier Deschamps avoided giving any clues as to whether he will field Ousmane Dembele as a 'false 9' tomorrow against Croatia, just as he plays at PSG, and attributed his scoring form to “very high efficiency” rather than “a transformation” in the way he plays.

“He has not transformed, but what is clear is that his efficiency is very high at the moment. He is also fully confident, he feels when he can do damage. His merit is to have that level of success,” Deschamps said from Split (Croatia), on the eve of the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Nations League.

Since his coach at PSG, Spain's Luis Enrique Martinez, has placed him at the heart of the attack, the winger Dembele has become the most in-form striker in Europe, with 22 goals in 17 games so far in 2025.

The French coach avoided giving credit to Luis Enrique for Dembele's development and also declined to say whether he will use him as a 'false 9' tomorrow.

“I'm not here to give information to our opponents. The important thing is to be complementary, to have the best possible technical relationship,” Deschamps argued.

Like his captain Kylian Mbappe, the coach publicly backed his player Adrien Rabiot (Marseille midfielder), after receiving harsh attacks from PSG ultras last Sunday.

“I spoke to him for a long time. What happened is clearly unacceptable. The evil is done, he has been very touched, but he is doing well,” said the coach.