“He went for 100 million and can’t even make a decision” - Paul Merson says Euro 2024 star is ‘1000 times better’ than Ousmane Dembele
Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson has said that Spain's Euro 2024 winner Lamine Yamal is way better than France attacker Ousmane Dembele. The 17-year-old helped La Roja to a continental triumph, beating England 2-1 in the Berlin final.
Dembele, 27, went scoreless in five games, registering an assist, as Les Bleus crashed out in the semi-final with a 2-1 loss to eventual winners Spain in Munich. Meanwhile, Yamal produced a breakthrough campaign - one goal and four assists in six games - to help his team to a record fourth European Championship.
His only goal came in the semi-final win over France, while one of his four assists came in the final win over England. Comparing Dembele - who moved from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona for €135 million in 2017 - with Yamal, Merson said on the Football's Greatest podcast:
“Dembele, he went for a 100 million that kid. He can’t (even) make a decision (on the pitch). The kid Yamal is a 1000 times better than him.”
Lamal created several records at Euro 2024 in Germany. He became the youngest assist-provider and goalscorer in Euros history and the youngest to appear in the semi-final and final of a major tournament.
"We're disappointed" - Ousmane Dembele's France teammate William Saliba after Euro 2024 SF defeat
France centre-back William Saliba had no qualms admitting that Spain were the better side on the night as he lamented his team's inability to come back after conceding two quickfire goals.
After Randal Kolo Muani had given Les Bleus a surprise ninth-minute lead, Yamal restored parity 12 minutes later with a brilliant equaliser before Dani Olmo's deflected 25th-minute strike proved enough for La Roja to take the win.
Following the defeat, Ousmane Dembele's teammate, Saliba, told UEFA.com that the team could have done better:
“We’re disappointed because we could have done better. We scored first but after that we gave them two goals. Honestly, they were better than us, and we have to accept that. It’s hard but that’s how it is. We gave everything to get back into it, but it didn’t happen.”
Dembele and Co. had an overall forgettable Euro 2024 campaign, scoring just once from open play and finishing second in a group they were widely expected to win.