French national team striker Ousmane Dembélé confirmed, on Thursday, that there was no dispute with “Roosters” captain Kylian Mbappé, after indirect statements that the two players exchanged through the media regarding the Golden Ball.
Dembele, who will be crowned with the award in 2025, said in a press conference on the eve of the match against Italy in the European Nations League at the Stade de France: “We talked. We sit next to each other at the table. "There is no problem."
The Paris Saint-Germain player refused to delve further into the issue, saying: “I do not comment on all these matters, and I do not want to comment on them. These are small battles on social media. At 29 years old, I don't really care about that. My focus is on what is most important, which is the stadium.”
Mbappe, in turn, sought to calm the atmosphere in an interview with the newspaper “L’Equipe” on September 21, confirming that there was no tension between them, and said: “He is a friend. "There's no real problem with that."
The controversy began after statements made by the Real Madrid star to France Football magazine, published on September 11, during which he talked about his chances of winning the Golden Ball, which will be awarded on October 26 in London.
“In some years, I considered myself the best player in the world,” Mbappe said, adding that when Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo won the award, he would admit that the best player was the one standing on the podium.
He then touched on Dembele, saying: “He has always been seen as a talented player. As for me, I have always been seen as the best candidate. I was at the top immediately and at a very young age. He took a different path due to injuries, but he made up for it well.”
Dembele responded two days later via the “League 1+” platform, in statements that fueled talk about the existence of tension between the two attacking stars of the French national team, the fourth World Cup in 2026.
He said: “Throughout my career, I did not utter a word, and I worked very hard. I was never the player that others saw as the most prominent candidate, but I worked hard, and last year I was rewarded after a wonderful season with Paris Saint-Germain. This year we will see, without pressure and calmly.”
Mbappe, the French national team's all-time top scorer, has 67 goals in 107 international matches.
Italian Inter survived its first loss in the league stage of the Women's Champions League, after snatching a fatal 1-1 draw against its Austrian host, Austria Vienna, on Thursday, in the second round of the competition.
Modesta Oka gave Austria Vienna the lead in the 21st minute, and the Austrian team maintained its advantage until the final moments of the match.
But Ivana Andres saved Inter from loss after scoring the equalizer in the fourth minute of added time in the second half.
Inter raised its score to 4 points to temporarily occupy fifth place, awaiting the completion of the rest of the round’s matches, while Austria Vienna gained its first point in the tournament to occupy fifteenth place.
In another match within the same round, Denmark's Kweh achieved a major victory over its Swiss guest, Servette, with a score of 5-1.
Koya won the first 3 points in his journey in the competition, temporarily advancing to eighth place, while Servet remained without points in the eighteenth and last place, after suffering his second loss in a row.
The Belgian national team will follow the approach adopted by Chelsea in managing the minutes of midfielder Romeo Lavia during the remainder of the international break, in light of the player’s record of injuries and physical problems.
Lafia has suffered from repeated fitness problems since his move to Chelsea from Southampton in 2023, and has never played a full official match in the London club's shirt.
But the player made a promising start this season, and participated more regularly with Chelsea, benefiting from the improvement in his physical condition and technical level.
Lafia got the opportunity to start for the first time with the Belgian national team during the last match against France, after he had participated as a substitute against Italy.
His limping in the final minutes of the match against France raised some concerns about his condition, before it later became clear that he was only suffering from a muscle strain.
It is expected that Lafia will not start when Belgium hosts the Turkish national team, on Friday evening, as part of the technical staff’s keenness to carefully manage his participation minutes.
Coach Mark Van Bommel said: “Romeo came on as a substitute against Italy, played 85 minutes against France, and gave a great performance. However, you can expect that I will not start him in the next match.”
Van Bommel also touched on the situation of striker Romelu Lukaku, stressing that his lack of starting participation in recent matches does not mean that he is out of his account.
He said: “It is not true at all that Romelu cannot participate as a substitute or start, quite the opposite. “It depends on what we think we need at each stage or situation.”
He added: “He has certain characteristics, but I felt that in that match we were playing a little far from the goal, so we needed speed.”
Charles de Keteelaar started in the spearhead position against both Italy and France, as Lukaku replaced him against Italy, while Van Bommel used Mathias Fernandez-Pardew during the France match.
The Belgian coach confirmed that he constantly communicates with Lukaku, saying: “I talk a lot with Romelu. I also went to see him in Istanbul and spoke to him via FaceTime about the situation and style of play. I don't want to say that Romelu can't do it, quite the opposite. The only obstacle is that he does not play much with Fenerbahce.”
