Converted into a pivot by Deschamps, the rojiblanco shines in his team
France has plenty of reasons to dream of a renewed championship title. It has Kylian Mbappé, with a fit Olivier Giroud and now also with the most famous version of Antoine Griezmann. The Atlético player has become one of the most notable figures at the World Cup after his two goal assists against England saw him lead that statistic in the Championship, alongside Harry Kane and Bruno Fernandes, who nominate him as the top assist in the league. history of the French team.
There is a different Griezmann in Qatar than the one who shone in Russia four years ago. From that first World Cup he left with the cup and four goals. Today’s aim is the same price with less offensive presence, but multiplied in defensive and creative work. The architect of this change is Didier Deschamps. And it’s not a thing now. The French coach has for years bet on the creativity and ingenuity of that organizing Griezmann, free of movement. The plague of injuries in France’s midfield, especially Paul Pogba’s, have cemented that belief and pushed him to take things a step further.
Today, the Little Prince plays even further back than in that position of ‘trequartista’ that has been guessed lately and has become the true motor of his team, the axis on which the whole game is divided. The result is unbeatable. Griezmann, who shows a spectacular 94% success rate in passes, is also the leader in expected assists and key passes. “I know I’m not going to shoot 50 times on target and I’m not obsessed with the target. The team needs me in the heart of the game,” he explained.
“He has everything to play deeper: vision, work rate, touch, energy, intelligence…”, Deschamps explained about his pupil’s role, already with the World Cup approaching. His confidence in him is absolute, and it shows in the 72 consecutive appearances with the national team that the Macon-born footballer has. Not a single appointment has been missed since 2017.
His great cross in the area is left over from the last game, which Giroud finally finished for the second goal, a repeated assist in a loop on social networks to praise the state of form and the sensations with which he arrived at the tournament. : «Physically I feel very good, and my head is also much better.»
Griezmann got used to only playing the second half at the start of the season at Atlético. So it went until the rojiblanco team reached an agreement with Barcelona for their final pass. But even that atypical situation has not conditioned him. His face reflects happiness almost in its purest form. Measure in hand and arms up, the colchonero celebrated their passage to the semi-finals by dancing as the team arrived at the concentration hotel, where they were received with music and confetti. He was the liveliest. You know it’s important and you celebrate it.
In the last four major tournaments (Euro 2016 and 2020 and World Cups 2018 and 2022), France scored 45 goals. Griezmann has participated in 19 of them in one way or another (11 goals and 8 assists), meaning he was involved in 42% of the most important goals for his team.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
