Dembélé: World Cup Focus & US Mission | CNN Exclusive

Champions in 2018, runners-up in 2022: will 2026 be the year France once again dominates football’s biggest stage?

With a new year comes a new set of goals and for the newly crowned best men’s soccer player in the world, Ousmane Dembélé, another chance at glory in the world cup is at the top of his agenda.

After lifting the trophy in Russia eight years ago, painful memories of the defeat against Argentina in Qatar still linger. However, the opportunity to redeem himself on North American soil this summer and aim for a third world title for The Blues It is an opportunity that he wants to take advantage of with all his might.

“We know what it takes to go all the way and we are going to try to do everything we can to bring the trophy home,” the forward told CNN World Sport exclusively after winning the Best Men’s Player Award at the recent Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In charge of that mission will be a very different group of players than the one that took to the Lusail Stadium field in December 2022 in the lost final against Argentina.

The class of 2026 under French coach Didier Deschamps is a mix of energetic youngsters and experienced heads, with Dembélé set to be one of the leading figures alongside strike partner Kylian Mbappé.

“There have been a lot of changes,” he says. “We have talented players who have adapted very well to the style and the squad. The French team will always have a leading role in this type of tournament, so you will have to count on us.”

The 28-year-old acknowledges the tournament won’t be easy, with a standout group stage match against Norway on the horizon featuring Premier League stars Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard.

However, the team’s opening match in the tournament, the June 16 clash against Senegal at MetLife Stadium, is what the forward has marked on his agenda.

Dembélé has strong African roots, despite being born and raised in France. He is the son of African immigrants, his mother Fatima, with whom he shares a close bond, is Mauritanian-Senegalese, while his father is a native of Mali.

“I got a lot of messages after that,” he smiles, remembering the World Cup draw in December.

They told me to score an own goal (against Senegal). Literally! In this team there are several Senegalese and French. It’s going to be a very nice game.

It is not only at the national level where the attacker aspires to achieve more success. 2025 was a year of transformation at the individual and club level for Dembélé.

He was a fundamental part of his club Paris Saint-Germain, which took France by storm last season, finishing as the league’s top scorer when Parisians they won a domestic double.

With eight goals and six assists in 15 Champions League games, Dembélé galvanized the young PSG team on their way to their first European Cup historic with a resounding 5-0 victory over Inter Milan, in which he also assisted the goals of Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The reward for his exploits? The prestigious Ballon d’Or in September, followed by the FIFA Best Award in December and the aforementioned Globe Soccer Award before the end of the year.

It was the fulfillment of a personal childhood dream and a testament that the path to the top is far from easy.

Dembélé burst onto the football scene, winning France’s best young player award in his first season as a professional at Stade Rennais. The following season, he helped Borussia Dortmund win the German Cup. But a million-dollar transfer to European giant Barcelona filled him with expectations and he was affected by numerous injuries.

For many, their career was ruined.

“I remember difficult moments in my career, when I couldn’t give up. It was mainly a mental issue. I had a lot of things to face… But there it is, it’s your path, it’s destiny, it’s life. You just have to keep playing,” says Dembélé.

His arrival at PSG in 2023, which more or less coincided with the appointment of coach Luis Enrique, has proven to be the rebirth of his career.

Dembélé has thrived under the Spanish coach’s approach of wanting the collective, not individuals, to be the star, particularly after the departure of superstar Mbappé to Real Madrid in the summer of 2024.

“Every footballer wants to have a team that is very strong collectively. I really enjoy this team,” he says proudly. “Everyone is important in this squad, whether they are young or a little older.”

The change in mentality from star-studded teams like Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar to Luis Enrique’s hard-working group yielded notable results for the club with an impressive six trophies in 2025.

The Parisian team continued where they left off the previous season by lifting their first trophy of the year. Last week they defeated arch-rivals Olympique Marseille in dramatic fashion on penalties to claim their fourth consecutive French Super Cup title.

The team, despite being eliminated in the French Cup by Paris FC, is immersed in a tight race for the Ligue 1 title with the surprising Lens. PSG will also have its sights set on becoming the first team, since Real Madrid, to win two consecutive Champions Leagues.

With two days left in the league phase, the defending champions remain on track to automatically qualify for the round of 16, currently sitting third in the standings with 13 points from six games.

But Dembélé and his teammates were not satisfied with winning and stayed there. His message is clear: Paris Saint-Germain is not going anywhere in the near future.

“As the coach repeated to us, it is because we are a team that we were able to go and get all these trophies and that is what we did, especially in 2025 and we are going to try to do the same in 2026,” he says.

“The philosophy of Paris Saint-Germain and the team is not going to change. We want to be a united team and, above all, a great team.”

The-CNN-Wire