France are considering the idea of benching Ousmane Dembele for their last group fixture of the Euro 2024 against Poland, according to French media outlet L'Equipe. Dembele has started on the right wing for both of their games so far but hasn't been convincing.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) winger has become a first-choice for Didier Deschamps ahead of his club teammate Randal Kolo Muani, and Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman.
However, injuries forced Coman to miss the home stretch of Bayern's season and is yet to play a full game for Les Blues this month. On the other hand, Kolo Muani struggled to impress in his first season with the Parisians, though he did score a goal against Luxembourg in one of their warmup matches earlier this month.
One of these players could feature in France's starting lineup against Poland on Tuesday though, with Dembele likely to be relegated to the bench. The 27-year-old failed to muster a single shot on target over two games and even got booked in their opening against Austria.
A second booking on matchday three could get him suspended from their Round of 16 clash, another big reason for Deschamps to drop him from their first XI this week.
France looking to reach the last-16 with Poland win
With four points in two games, a draw should be enough for France to book their place in the Round of 16. But given their disappointing run in the Euros so far, Les Blues will aim to roar back into form just before the knockout stages.
Poland aren't the most formidable opponents either, with their elimination already confirmed. The Eagles lost 2-1 to the Netherlands before a shock 3-1 loss to Austria to remain pointless at the bottom of Group D.
Also, France and Poland had met just 18 months ago at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where Kylian Mbappe-led Blues prevailed 3-1 in the last-16 game en route to finishing as the runners-up.