It’s as if something had broken during the Euro. Until then the undisputed leader of the French team, Antoine Griezmann saw his status change this summer in Germany. Suffering both physically and technically, bounced from position to position, much less influential on his team’s play, the 2018 world champion had a tough tournament. Not even a starter in the semi-final lost to Spain (2-1), he is no longer, at 33, the player who was one of Didier Deschamps’ key players for so long.
On Friday, for the return of the Blues against Italy at the Parc des Princes in the Nations League, he was once again due to sit on the bench, before the withdrawal of Randal Kolo Muani, who was ill, finally gave him a starting place. His axial position, supporting Kylian Mbappé, was supposed to allow him to find his form again. But he was never in the right rhythm. However, this is where he feels most fulfilled, as he repeated in an interview given to Telefoot after the slap suffered against the Nazionale (1-3).
Griezmann does not see himself stopping the Blues
“My best position? For me it’s always been in the centre, this feeling of freedom. I need that to feel good mentally. My game goes a lot through my head, my mind. If I’m happy, everything’s fine. If I have doubts and questions, you can see it straight away. That’s what happened at the Euro. I have to be free in my head, happy and be at the heart of the game to enjoy myself and enjoy the others,” he confided, as if sending a message to his coach.
During this interview, the Colchonero also returned to his “complicated” Euro. “It was a lot of changes of position and tactics, we had to deal with it. I had done my preparation with Atlético to arrive physically well. If I manage to score these two goals against the Netherlands, I think my Euro is different. Did it annoy me to change position? Not when I was on the pitch, but annoying against Poland and Spain when I didn’t play. They were tactical choices, you have to respect them, even if you are angry. It’s the team above all. But it wasn’t my best competition,” he admitted, already looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup.
“I still want to play, to represent France, then it will be up to Deschamps to choose.” And he will already have choices to make on Monday for the expected reaction against Belgium, in Lyon (8:45 p.m.), still in the Nations League.
- RMC Sport
