Antoine Griezmann prepares for a ‘completely different proposition’ presented by Lionel Messi after taking France to the World Cup final again.
Griezmann delivered a man-of-the-match performance as reigning champions France thrashed Morocco’s historic semi-final berth 2-0 to set up a showdown with Argentina in Sunday’s final.
The 31-year-old insisted France is ready to defend its crown against Messi and others, and revealed on Thursday that he would start devising a game plan as soon as possible.
“Any team with Messi is a completely different proposition,” Griezmann said at the post-match press conference. I know how they play, they’re a tough team to play and a team at their best.
“Obviously it’s not just Messi, they have a strong side around him, so we know it’s going to be a tough match. We know they’re going to have a lot of support from the crowd. So we’ll get down to business tomorrow, talk about it, see what we should focus on, where we can hurt them and protect them from them.We’ll be well prepared.”
Griezmann redefines his role in dazzling fashion
Sky Sports’ Jack Wilkinson:
Antoine Griezmann’s repositioning was central to France’s bid to win World Cup glory in Qatar and was hailed as a stroke of genius even before the ball was kicked at the Arbeit stadium. His latest captivating performance deconstructed Morocco’s history-making run all the way to the semi-finals, and only elevated such ratings.
Morocco beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal to advance to the last four. Their efforts even saw the Atlas Lions temporarily halt their pursuit of Kylian Mbappe and Olivier his Giroud’s Golden His Boots, but their performance, however feisty, was Griezmann’s. I couldn’t give you an explanation.
After injuries to Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante before the World Cup, Deschamps’ hand was forced. In a clear move of desperation, the world champion turned to Griezmann to fill the chasm vacated by the two stars of his victory in Russia four years earlier. bloomed in
A great goalscorer who won the best player award and golden boot at Euro 2016 and brought glory to France at the 2018 World Cup, how Griezmann evolved into a box-to-box midfielder. , during the attack, is an amazing story of France’s progress to another final.
Against Morocco, Griezmann created twice as many chances as any other player on the pitch and helped prepare Theo Hernandez for the opening goal. But his repetitive effectiveness on defense was just as important as he was able to keep Morocco at bay with three clears, two tackles and two interceptions.
Mbappe and Lionel Messi are right to dominate the build-up to Sunday’s World Cup final. But if France retains the crown that Griezmann helped secure in Russia, we can be sure that his fingerprints will be there again, albeit in a different form.
“This is Antoine Griezmann’s show”
Melissa Reddy believes Antoine Griezmann played a key role for France, securing his place in the World Cup final. After his impressive 2-0 win against Morocco at the Al-Bait stadium,
Sky Sports News Senior Reporter Melissa Reddy said:
“Whether the heir to the throne will be Kylian Mbappe, who has already won the World Cup title, or Lionel Messi, the best player in the world for as long as we can remember, who does not have that world. Will the status of the cup come out on top?
“It will be a big fight between Mbappe and Messi, but the final between France and Argentina is not the only one.
“I’ve been watching Argentina and France since my first training session in Qatar and the contrast between them is actually quite incredible.
“In the first session in Argentina, the whole press pack was talking about this being a big chance for Messi to win the World Cup. There was a sense of calmness, but of course they were shocked by the Saudi Arabia.
“Sometimes it doesn’t look good, but Messi puts his neck up for them and does what only Messi can do.
“Then look at France, journalists said in their first session that Didier Deschamps’ side lacked too many players to challenge. The core of the squad was destroyed by injuries.
“But after a few games they started to understand. The unity of that team was amazing, even though England outperformed them in the long game and Morocco played better against France than England did. Yet there was never any real feeling… They are so calm, so calm and know what they have to do.
“I know everyone talks about Mbappe and wants to build a Mbappe-Messi fight in the final, but this was Griezmann’s show. He’s an outstanding French player.”
”He was everywhere on the pitch against Morocco. Everything they built in attack came from him. Some of their last defense was him.He’s an unreal player.”
Antoine Griezmann of France celebrates with Olivier Giroud after the match
Deschamps anticipating tough World Cup final
Head coach Didier Deschamps will become the first man ever to win a World Cup as a player and twice as a manager if France beats Argentina in Sunday’s final.
“I am always proud when I achieve results like this,” Deschamps said. “It’s great to make it to the final on Sunday. It wasn’t an easy win, but we showed quality, experience and team spirit. No, I’m very proud of the players.”
Speaking at the World Cup final on Sunday, Deschamps continued: [in Russia] Circumstances are different, he actually played against us as a centre-forward and surprised us. Now he’s playing behind centre-forward, but he picks up a lot of the ball, he runs with it, he’s in great form and of course one of the greatest players in the world.
“We saw a very strong Argentinian team against Croatia, but in previous games they weren’t always so strong. They could have played better under a lot of pressure on us.
“But in the final against Argentina, both teams are playing better teams than they have played in previous tournaments, and we have two very high quality teams. The key is to make the difference. It’s up to the player, and the team that makes the fewest mistakes will probably win the game.
Benzema to make a sensational comeback in the final?
French coach Didier Deschamps has responded to reports claiming Karim Benzema could make a shock return in Sunday’s World Cup final.
At the post-match press conference, Deschamps refused to rule out the possibility that Karim Benzema played sensationally in Sunday’s World Cup final.
The Ballon d’Or winner injured his thigh during France’s first training session in Qatar, but Deschamps chose not to call up a replacement. Enough.
At tonight’s post-match press conference, Deschamps was asked: did you need him? ”
An outraged Deschamps smiled and replied, “I don’t really want to answer that question. Next question. Sorry.”