Didier Deschamps, coach of France, avoided confirming whether he’ll use Ousmane Dembélé as a ‘false 9’ against Croatia tomorrow, as he does at PSG, but he did praise his impressive goal-scoring run, attributing it to "very high efficiency" rather than any "transformation" in his playing style.

"He hasn’t changed, but what’s clear is that his efficiency is extremely high right now (...). He’s also fully confident, knows when he can hurt the opposition. His credit lies in maintaining that level of success," Deschamps said from Split (Croatia), on the eve of the first leg of the Nations League quarterfinals.

Dembélé at His Best Under Luis Enrique

Since Luis Enrique Martínez, his coach at PSG, moved him to the center of attack, Dembélé has become one of the most in-form forwards in Europe, with 22 goals in 17 matches in 2025.

However, Deschamps refrained from giving specific credit to Luis Enrique for Dembélé’s development and also avoided saying whether he would use him as a ‘false 9’ in tomorrow’s match. "I’m not here to give away information to our rival. What’s important is to be complementary and have the best technical relationship possible," the French coach explained.