He is a player who has the ability to change the face of the team. He likes just as much to try it individually as to give a pass. With his left foot he has the ability to light up the game, all through a collective sense of understanding and above average generosity. He has been at the highest level for almost ten years ”. Leo Messi? No, Antoine Griezmann.
This is how the coach Didier Deschamps referred yesterday to a player not always understood, especially due to his irregular time at FC Barcelona, but who in republican France always managed to justify the nickname of Little Prince. His numbers and his actions with the French team explain the admiration that his coach, his teammates and the fans profess for him. Everyone will push today to beat Morocco in the semifinals to try to achieve success, win two World Cups in a row, with only two precedents in history: Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962).
Griezmann's statistics are impressive. Starting with the most recent, his goal assists. Against England in the quarter-finals he signed the decisive cross with a pinpoint cross to Giroud's head. In total in Qatar he has completed three, equaling Harry Kane (England) and Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), both already out of the tournament. Enlarging the image Griezmann comes out even more favoured: his performance in the World Cup has made him the top assist in the history of the French team with 28 final passes, thus advancing legends like Thierry Henry, with 27, and Zinédine Zidane, with 26.
More numbers that help to size the figure of today's Atlético de Madrid player in his country. Griezmann will surpass Marcel Desailly tonight in the number of caps, reaching 116. In this section, his teammate, captain Hugo Lloris, leads him, with 143. But there is a ranking in which the Little Prince goes first alone.
The midfielder has not missed a single game with Les Bleus since August 31, 2017, 72 in a row. No one can cough on you there.
And attention to the latest statistics: France has scored a total of 45 goals in the last four major tournaments (Euro Cups 2016 and 2020 and World Cups 2018 and 2022), and in 19 of them they participated directly, with eleven goals and eight assists. Conclusion: he has been a decisive part of 42% of France's goals. Now Deschamps' compliments are better understood.
