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World Cup in Qatar 2022 | Tunisia-France: the best Griezmann, in command of France

Griezmann, in a training session in France. / afp

Tunisia-France | At 4:00 p.m.

The Atlético striker guides his team and dazzles in the midfield position

One of the embers that can be seen in the second week of the World Cup is the superior level that Antoine Griezmann has shown. The Atlético striker guides the French team with his left foot and his vision towards the revalidation of the title. He is the premium version of the player in a new position for him, as a midfielder, starting from behind to assist his forwards. Against Tunisia, if he plays and with his qualified team, another light night can be expected for him.

The newspaper L’Equipe dedicated the cover to him on Tuesday under the title ‘Big Grizou’ and glosses in great detail what the whole world is seeing. A superlative Griezmann, the brain of the French team.

France broke the champions’ curse and qualified for the round of 16 with the match against Tunisia to go. And in part it is due to the emergence of Griezmann as an attacking midfielder, away from finishing positions, in charge of the distribution of the game. “You see his pass to Kylian Mbappé (against Denmark, which ended in a goal) and you deduce that he has superior technical ability, the ability to find improbable passes,” describes his teammate Giroud.

Griezmann has gone through all the states in the elite. A unique figure in Atlético as a scorer, Messi’s unsuccessful teammate at Barça, decisive in his return to Atlético in more backward positions… Now he is once again the protagonist with France.

«Useful and smart»

“He is very generous. He likes to develop plays. He will score fewer goals, because there are other players up front, but he is very useful, intelligent. He provides a good balance to the team. He probably asks different things of him, but there is no sacrifice on his part », analyzes Didier Deschamps, the French coach, world champion in 1998.

Deschamps has given the lead to Dembelé on the right, Giroud in the center and Mbappé on the left. Griezmann connects with them from his vision of the game and his technique. Add to this his defensive solvency, constant sacrifice to steal or annoy, according to Simeone’s cholista manual.

«I am not surprised by what he does, because I think he is a player who has a superior technical quality that allows him to function in all positions. The coach talks to him a lot,” explains Barcelona defender Jules Koundé.

Along with Tchouameni and Rabiot, Griezmann has integrated into the double offensive and defensive facet, without losing his natural quality. “I was impressed by what he did against Denmark,” judged the Madrid midfielder Tchouameni, who seems established in Deschamps’ starting lineup. “I could have put him on the right flank of the attack instead of Ousmane Dembelé, but that’s not where he would be most useful for the team,” said the French coach.

Griezmann’s work is the epicenter of comments on the world champion team, beyond Mbappé’s goals. “He covers a lot of space, he has the ability to defend and get others to play. He is the Antoine we know, the Antoine who is in good shape,” Varane said.

The Atlético striker comes to replace with his performance the gap left by injury Karim Benzema, Ballon d’Or winner and was supposed to support France in preparing the game. “I’m proud of myself, but I’m also proud of the whole team,” says Griezmann, the driving force behind a France that is rocketing.

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