Alan Shearer, the legendary former England striker, expressed his frustration and anger towards Ousmane Dembele following France’s exit from Euro 2024. Shearer pulled no punches as he criticized Dembele’s performance in their 2-1 defeat to Spain in Munich on Tuesday.
France took an early lead through Randal Kolo Muani, who headed home a perfect cross from Kylian Mbappe. However, Spain responded swiftly with two goals in four minutes, turning the game on its head. Sixteen-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal equalized with a stunning strike before Dani Olmo secured Spain’s place in the final with a decisive goal.
After the match, Shearer voiced his disappointment on BBC, singling out Dembele for his wasteful performance. “Dembele was probably more guilty than anyone in terms of being wasteful when he got into good positions,” Shearer stated. “It’s so frustrating when you get there and you’re delivering balls [into the box] which aren’t good time after time.”
Shearer continued, “When you’re in that position, you have to be expected to do better than what he’s done. He had plenty of guys in there and he kept hitting crosses straight at the keeper. I was getting frustrated and angry up here myself so you can imagine how they were feeling out there on the pitch. There was just a complete lack of energy and quality from him tonight.”
Despite France’s early promise, their campaign in Germany ended abruptly, with no third-place play-off to salvage. The defeat marked a disappointing end for Didier Deschamps’ side, who had high hopes for the tournament.
Spain now awaits the winner of tonight’s semi-final clash between England and the Netherlands, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to lift the Euro 2024 trophy.
