Antoine Griezmann had a bad night against Sweden in the League of Nations.
-
Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
Despite the victory of the France team (1-0), Antoine Griezmann missed out on his match on Saturday night in Sweden.
In addition to having missed a penalty at the very end of the match, the Barcelona player did not know how to set the pace for his team.
If he has extenuating circumstances, Grizou would still have an interest in recovering against Croatia, Tuesday evening, at the Stade de France.
We did not expect much and yet we were still disappointed… We are not talking here about the performance - average - of the French team on Saturday night in Sweden for its first League of Nations match, but of that - even more average - of Antoine Girezmann.
As often since signing at Barca, blue gatherings are an opportunity for the French to take a shot of happiness and cut with the
lose
accompanying H24 Catalunya.
But if even that no longer works, we will slowly start to ask questions about the native of Mâcon.
News from Antoine Griezmann.
#SUEFRA https://t.co/JL1lnxDZyV
- Winamax Sport (@WinamaxSport) September 5, 2020
Certainly, the number 7 of the Blues in extenuating circumstances:
The Blues had not played together for more than nine months.
Griezmann's last match dates back to August 14 (Barça's 8-2 defeat to Bayern in Lisbon) and he needs time to get the machine going.
With a few rare exceptions (Kanté, Mbappé), the entire French team missed out on their match on Saturday.
Nevertheless, Griezmann does not have much of the silky player that we knew in the France team so far.
And this time, the excuse of Messi-who-takes-too-too-much-space-and-doesn't-want-to-play-with-Grizou doesn't work.
On Saturday, the Frenchman missed just about everything he did on his own, like a big guy.
“In the game, it's not the Griezmann we know, agrees Alain Giresse.
He has lost confidence, he plays small arms, he no longer really takes any risk ”.
The Barcelonan lacked both influence in the game and accuracy in the finish, like this volley harvested in the last quarter of an hour after a good cross from Digne.
Not to mention the peno sent to the stratosphere at the very end of the game, the third in a row missed by Griezmann in the selection (thank you Vegedream ...), which could have allowed him to mitigate a little the bitter taste of this dirty evening.
The Blues united behind Griezmann
This missed penalty, “this is not the major concern, politely sent Giroud on M6 after the French victory.
He must regain confidence.
We know that there are more difficult times for attackers.
You have to keep your back round, take refuge in work.
I'm not worried about him.
He has the strength of character to quickly notice penalties and strikes of which he has the secret.
"
Hugo “the punchlines” Lloris was also involved in diplomacy when discussing the performance of his teammate: “I don't want to say that he was in difficulty, he did the job, he been at the service of the team.
"For the coach, however," the problem is that he does not shoot them in the club so he does not train for this particular technical gesture ".
Or when his ordeal at Barça ends up rubbing off on his performance in the France team ...
The Griezmann that we gave them
VS
The Griezmann that they gave us back pic.twitter.com/FMtKMjv3ZH
- Zouggi (@ zouggi75) September 5, 2020
Asked about this on Sunday in the Téléfoot show, Deschamps preferred to minimize (or dodge) the misfortunes of the former Real Sociedad, simply assuring that he did not “need to save him.
He is waiting to see what will happen next season ”.
Proof that the heavy context around Barça with the real-false start of Messi is not totally foreign to the spleen shot through by Griezmann.
For Giresse on the other hand, there is no doubt that the
Blaugrana
looks bad to him: “Against Sweden, I saw a boy who is a little traumatized by his situation in Barcelona.
And contrary to what we saw until then, the fact of finding the cocoon of the France team is not even enough for him to find his game, his freedom ... This is perhaps the most worrying.
"
A change of leadership to come for the Blues?
Didier Deschamps had nevertheless done everything to put his foal in the best conditions, as he does "every time", dixit DD himsefl at our colleagues from
France Football
.
Placed in false number 10 in the new 3-5-2 (or 3-4-1-2) of the Blues, Grizou should have been in a chair to make the link between the middle and the attack.
It did not happen.
In his defense, very few balls did not reach him in the first period, Adrien Rabiot preferring the comfort of side passes which do not advance the schmilblick.
Against Albania, nine months earlier, Grizou had yet shown great promise in this role behind the two attackers.
Mbappé's reaction to Griezmann's missed penalty.
😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/QsYxAntNhY
- Boh Is My New Superpower (@Tomisthabomb) September 5, 2020
“It's not the same period, defended Deschamps after the match.
We can look at all the offensive players, to make a difference they need some energy.
The volume is there, he felt better and better during the match, but the machine must be restarted.
He must find sensations that he no longer had in the club.
And there, it's been 10 months since he played for the France team.
"
We won't blame DD for protecting its leader, but we also can't help but think that this role may be changing hands.
If Mbappé, savior of the Blues on Saturday after a goal with finesse, continues his momentum in club and in selection, the question of leadership in attack could well end up arising.
We are not there yet, of course, and the possible exit of the Parisian's starting XI (ankle injury on Saturday) next Tuesday against Croatia should not upset the roles in the France team.
For the moment.
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Didier Deschamps
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French football team
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