sport news DOMINIC KING: Antoine Griezmann stands out as world class for France during 2-1 ... trends now
It always pays to listen to the wise, old sages and never was that truer than during a pre-game audience with Guy Stephan, France’s assistant manager.
All the hoopla had been around Kylian Mbappe, for obvious reasons, but Stephan – a man with 35 years’ experience as a coach – subtly changed the direction of the conversation to pay homage to the elder statesmen.
‘This is the World Cup of records for France!’ he beamed. ‘Olivier (Giroud) getting the most goals; Hugo (Lloris) going past Lillian Thuram’s number of appearances and then there is Antoine – 72 appearances in a row! When you think about what that means… it is a remarkable achievement.’
Antoine Griezmann (pictured) featured during France's 2-1 World Cup win over England
It was Griezmann's 72nd straight appearance for Les Bleus, which is a remarkable record
And not a bad pointer for the weekend, either. For all that it seemed pre-ordained Mbappe would be the man to define this World Cup quarter-final, the men Stephan name-checked put their fingerprints all over the 90 minutes to break England’s hearts.
While Mbappe flittered on the edges, offering plenty of menace but being well handled by Kyle Walker, France were able to get the crucial foothold in the first half thanks, in the main, to Griezmann.
France’s squad is made up of any number of players who comfortably go into the bracket of world class but the very fact Griezmann, who has spent almost all of his club career in Spain, stands out from them gives you the best example of his talent.
Griezmann (right) last missed a game for France was in June 2017 when they beat England 3-2
Griezemann epitomises so much of what characterises this France team playing with freedom
The last time Griezmann missed a game for France was in June 2017 and a night in Paris when Les Bleus beat England 3-2 and, since then, he has won the World Cup, was named Man-of-the-Match in the 2018 final and gone past 100 caps.
Griezemann epitomises so much of what characterises this France team – the nous to get in little pockets and play those little flicks and touches that cause such damage – and he was, without a shadow of a doubt, a key reason why they are step closer to emulating the Brazil team of 1962.
During the opening 45 minutes, Griezmann, who is now 31, kept moving behind England’s midfield as if he was playing hide-and-seek, every time Jude Bellingham, Jordan
