Cyrille de La Morinerie, with AFP 6:44 p.m., December 02, 2022
Two days before the round of 16 between France and Poland, Antoine Griezmann gave a press conference.
Asked about the identity of the player who would take a penalty, while the Polish goalkeeper has already stopped two in this World Cup in Qatar, the leader of the Blues, a specialist in exercise, left some doubt.
Antoine Griezmann, a specialist in the exercise at the 2018 World Cup, gave no indication on Friday of the hierarchy of penalty shooters, explaining that the Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, Sunday's opponent of the Blues in the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar, "will be surprised" if there were to be one.
"I'm there if necessary, whether it's for free kicks, corners, penalties or six-meters, I can do everything. It's what the coach wants, what the team needs" , replied the player of the France team.
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"He asks me to take corners and free kicks, for the moment," he added, relaunched on the instructions of coach Didier Deschamps.
Do not give information to the Polish goalkeeper
"On this point (penalties) it is very clear, but we are not going to give any information to Szczesny, he has already stopped two 'penalties'. For the third, if there is one, he will have the surprise of the shooter!”, he then released with a smile.
Wojciech Szczesny stood out in the first round with a penalty saved against Saudi Arabia (2-0) then another against Lionel Messi during the 2-0 defeat against Argentina.
Since the 2018 World Cup, where Griezmann had excelled in the exercise (three penalties scored), the Blues have experienced several failures in this area, with a rather vague hierarchy.
Deschamps has repeatedly said he is in favor of a certain freedom, regularly advancing the argument of the "feeling" of the players on the field, as long as "there are no negative things".
Olivier Giroud, in charge of any penalties?
After his faultless in Russia, Griezmann missed the next three penalties before finding success in November 2021 against Kazakhstan (8-0), his last goal in selection.
In the France team, Kylian Mbappé scored three, missed one in March 2021 in Kazakhstan (2-0), and missed the crucial shot on goal in the round of 16 of the Euro in 2021 against Switzerland.
The PSG striker took the last penalty for the Blues in March against South Africa (5-0).
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Another possible shooter, Olivier Giroud has never missed a single one in the France team, but he rarely shoots them.