Has Antoine Griezmann become a problem for France at Euro 2024?
DUSSELDORF – Majestic at the 2022 World Cup, Antoine Griezmann’s current struggles reflect that of a France side for whom the goals have worryingly dried up at Euro 2024, ahead of their last-16 clash with Belgium on July 1.
France emerged from their group unbeaten but they scored just twice in three matches, one an own goal which allowed them to beat Austria, and the other a penalty by Kylian Mbappe in a 1-1 draw with Poland.
In between there was a 0-0 stalemate with the Netherlands, in which Griezmann notably squandered a couple of excellent opportunities.
Despite defending well, their laborious performances meant the best European team at each of the last two World Cups only finished second in Group D, behind Austria.
That has sent them into what is undoubtedly the tougher half of the draw in the knockout rounds, even if their next opponents also struggled during the group phase.
Griezmann, now 33 and playing at his sixth major international tournament for France, was extraordinary at the World Cup in Qatar.
He was converted by coach Didier Deschamps from a striker into a playmaker in a midfield that needed to be reconstructed after the loss of both Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante to injury.
There, Griezmann combined creativity with a tireless work ethic and was his country’s best player before the final itself, before Mbappe took over with an astonishing hat-trick as France eventually lost to Lionel Messi’s Argentina on penalties.
The contrast between Qatar and the Euro so far for Griezmann has been striking.
He struggled playing behind the front man in France’s last pre-tournament friendly, a 0-0 draw with Canada.
The Atletico Madrid star then reverted to a role on the left of a midfield three in the win against Austria, but the broken nose suffered by Mbappe in that game had a big impact on his vice-captain.
Griezmann, now wearing the captain’s armband, was again asked to play behind the centre-forward – in this case Marcus Thuram – against the Netherlands but endured an off-night.
So much so that he was dropped against Poland, only appearing as a substitute for the last half-hour.
“It was just a choice. That’s all. There is no need to interpret anything,” insisted Deschamps after that game in Dortmund.
He denied there was any problem between the pair and that Griezmann – who was handed his debut by Deschamps a decade ago and has won 132 caps – took being left out of the team “like a professional, with a smile”.
Not since Euro 2016, when France lost the final as hosts, had Griezmann been omitted from the starting line-up in a major tournament game with something on the line.
So now the question is what role Griezmann will play against Belgium, the team France beat 1-0 in the semi-finals on the way to winning the 2018 World Cup.
The expectation is that he is recalled to the starting line-up where he can support Mbappe, who came back from his injury against Poland, sporting a protective face mask.
With Mbappe available, there is a little less pressure on Griezmann to score, but he will be eager to improve his recent statistics.
The former Barcelona player has netted just twice in his last 31 games for his country.
Nevertheless, statisticians Opta put his Expected Goals (XG, a metric to measure the quality of a chance) at Euro 2024 at 1.84.
Only Mbappe (2.12 from two games) and the tournament’s three-goal joint-top scorer, Georgia’s French-born marksman Georges Mikautadze (2.26), have a higher number.
Maybe the goals will eventually come, and in any case his influence on the France side is still enormous.
“He has missed chances but that will happen again, it happens all the time. He is a vital player for us,” said midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.
“He is the custodian of our way of playing. The ball always goes through him. He has that responsibility, but he is an exceptional player, as he showed all season long and as he shows every day, so there are no worries.”
Now it is up to Deschamps to decide where Griezmann plays against Belgium. AFP