Soccer-Griezmann’s place in France hierarchy could be at an end

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Euro 2024 - Group D - Austria v France - Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf, Germany - June 17, 2024 France's Antoine Griezmann embraces coach Didier Deschamps after being substituted REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo

By Mark Gleeson

HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - It has been among the longest and more successful partnerships in international football but Didier Deschamps' reliance on Antoine Griezmann could be at an end as France chart a new course at the European Championship.

The vice-captain lost his place for their last group game against Poland and there is no guarantee he will have it back for the last-16 clash with Belgium in Duesseldorf on Monday.

That would have seemed almost unthinkable just months ago, but Griezmann has suffered a dramatic slump and Deschamps’ reliance on his ability to play many different roles in the team looks at an end.

“It was a choice in relation to the options that I took,” Deschamps told reporters when asked to explain the omission that many pundits predicted was coming.

The Francw coach chose speed to take on Poland’s more dominant physical presence and could stick with that same idea against Belgium’s back four, leaving Griezmann sidelined again as the tournament enters the knockout phase.

Before being dropped, the 33-year-old had overtaken Lilian Thuram’s record of 32 matches at the World Cup and Euros – the most for an outfield player in a French jersey.

Indeed, he has not missed a match for Les Bleus in the two major tournaments since his debut for the selection in 2014.

He has been in all of Deschamps' campaigns as France coach and featured in a record 84 consecutive matches with the national team, a series that ended in March only because of injury.

Playing as a link between the midfield and the front line, he served his manager in multiple roles on the field and off it, which Deschamps seemed to cherish.

"He's the type of player who can really change a team because he's so hard working and so technically gifted," the coach said earlier this year.

"Of course, his main responsibility isn't ball winning; his left foot is so wonderful, he creates great chances for others.

"He's someone who always thinks of the good of the team above everything else. He's extremely hard working, probably more so than most players."

But clearly some of that lustre has been lost, particularly after poor games for Griezmann against Austria and the Netherlands in Group D.

His statistics do not make for good reading either.

Although not playing as prominently in attack as he does at club level with Atletico Madrid, Griezmann has scored two goals in his last 31 games for his country, a ratio far off his overall tally off 44 goals in 132 internationals.

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ken Ferris)