"The Ballon d'Or frontrunner","Really cooking this season" - Fans hail France star as they defeat Croatia on penalties in Nations League clash

Fans of France have praised Ousmane Dembele following their 5-4 penalty shootout win over Croatia in the second leg of the Nations League quarterfinal on (March 23). Dembele was brilliant in attack and he scored a late goal that handed Les Bleus a lifeline during the game.

The first leg of this clash which was played in Split ended 2-0 in favor of Croatia. Thus, Les Bleus needed two goals in the second leg to make the scoreline level.

Following a foul by Duje Caleta-Car on Kylian Mbappe during the game, France were awarded a free kick in a promising position in the 51st minute. One minute later (52’), Michael Olise scored an outstanding goal having placed his free kick in the top right corner leaving goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic helpless.

In the 80th minute, Dembele placed his strike into the net after being set up by Olise in attack, making the scoreline 2-0. Thus, after normal time, the aggregate scoreline from both the first and second legs was 2-2.

The game then headed to the extra time phase in search of a winner. Les Bleus dominated the extra time as the Croatians seemed to be conservative. After the stalemate in 30 minutes of extra time, the game was thrown into a penalty shootout session in search of a winner.

However, after a 4-4 penalty scoreline, Croatia's Josip Stanisic's spot-kick was saved by France's Mike Maignan. Thus, Dayot Upamecano converted his spot-kick which guaranteed a 5-4 win and a spot in the semi-final for France.

Meanwhile, an assessment of Demebele's performance indicates that he was dominant and clinical in attack. In his stint, Dembele registered a passing accuracy of 78% (46/59). He registered one shot on target, provided five key passes, and created one big chance (via Sofascore).

After the comeback win, fans took to X to laud the Frenchman for his terrific performance, with one tweeting:

"Dembele is the ballon d'or frontrunner."

"Ousmane Dembele for club and country this season: 🏟 43 games ⚽️ 32 goals 🅰️ 6 assists Unstoppable.," a page added.

"Yeah Dembele showed Mbappe what a real bdor looks in 2025 👏," one netizen opined.

"See that doue Jesus 😭😭, and dembele is a baller.. Oliseh bruhh," another user shared.

"Dembele is really cooking this season," wrote another.

How did France's attacker Michael Olise perform against Croatia?

France v Croatia - UEFA Nations League Quarterfinal Leg Two - Source: Getty

Olise was creative and was arguably Les Bleus’ best attacking player during the encounter. He also scored a crucial free kick that increased France's tempo, which engineered the victory.

Olise maintained a passing accuracy of 84% (57/68) against Croatia. He provided five key passes, registered one shot, and was successful in three out of six attempted dribbles (via Sofascore). Meanwhile, Les Bleus will take on Spain in the semifinal of the Nations League competition.