Paul Merson rues France attacker's end product after 1-1 Euro 2024 draw against Poland

Arsenal legend Paul Merson lamented French winger Ousmane Dembele for his lack of end product as Les Bleus drew 1-1 with Poland in their final group fixture of Euro 2024. The two teams clashed at the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday, June 25.

Kylian Mbappe put France in front from the penalty spot after 56 minutes, but Robert Lewandowski pulled Poland level in the 79th minute, also from 12 yards. Unable to find a late winner, Didier Deschamps' men were forced to settle for a share of the spoils, allowing Austria, who beat the Netherlands in the other game, to win Group D.

France mustered 19 shots in tonight's game, of which eight were on target, but were undone by some poor misses. Kylian Mbappe saw two efforts saved in the first half whereas Theo Hernandez's shot was poked away.

Dembele, though, had perhaps the best chance of the game for France in the 19th minute, when he was one-on-one with Polish goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski. But the PSG winger wasted the opportunity by firing it straight at him.

A few minutes later, N'Golo Kante lifted a nice cross for Dembele to latch on to, but his first touch was poor, and Poland were able to collect the ball. He did, however, win a penalty for France in the second half, which Mbappe dispatched.

Merson, however, was still unconvinced by the 27-year-old, and rued his lack of end-product. He wrote on X:

"If Dembele had an end product he would be a very very very good player #EURo2024 [France flag emoji]"

Besides his lacking of cutting edge, Dembele delivered a strong performance. He was the source of many of the crosses for Mbappe and cut open Poland numerous times with his intelligent runs and impeccable passing.

The PSG star was also key to winning back possession for his side, as Dembele won eight of his 10 attempted ground duels. By developing a devastating finishing touch, the player could elevate himself to world-class status.

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Tough path awaits France after disappointing stalemate

Heavy favorites to progress from Group D as its winner, France could only secure a second place finish with five points in three games. Although their passage to last-16 was long confirmed, tonight's draw means a potentially tough path awaits them in the knockout stages.

As things stand, Les Bleus are set to face the runners-up of Group E in the next round, which is currently Belgium, who are still to play their final group match. If they successfully sail through, then another tough fixture against their Euro 2016 final conquerors, Portugal, could await in the quarter-finals.

France haven't really impressed at the Euro 2024 so far, not being able to manage more than one goal in any of their games so far, even getting shut out by the Oranje. The two-time World Cup winners will have to improve if they are to carve out a deep run at the German showpiece.