The French team were smiling, bopping up and down and waving to the crowd as Gala’s Freed from Desire blared around the Dusseldorf Arena.
Briefly, Les Bleus allowed themselves to celebrate their 1-0 win over Belgium which saw them progress to the European Championship quarter-finals. It was as if a weight had been lifted from the players’ shoulders.
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Even as they left the pitch, their backroom staff formed a guard of honour, applauding them as they funnelled through, patting them on the back. It was rare to see the collective so jubilant at the end of a last-16 match; even more so given it was only Jan Vertonghen’s 85th-minute own goal that proved the difference.
Emotions were high, the relief was evident and yet, technically speaking, not a single France player has even scored a goal in open play so far at this tournament. They have lacked a clinical edge from the start and have relied on two own goals, against Austria and Belgium, and a penalty against Poland to progress this far.
“You still have to shoot — we forced the errors,” said France manager Didier Deschamps. “You have to make your own luck and not let it become a psychological block. We’re going to work on that.”
Deschamps is not worried, he said, because his team are creating chances.
Indeed, they registered an expected goals (xG) value of 1.0 compared to Belgium’s 0.2 and had 19 shots, of which only two were on target. He expects the finishing touches to come.
What is more concerning, however, is that playmaker Antoine Griezmann is yet to impact the game as he once did. Kylian Mbappe generates the headlines, but since Deschamps moved Griezmann from the front line to a more attacking midfield role, he has become this side’s key player.
It is Griezmann who pulls the strings offensively for his country and his defensive positioning is astute. Yet we are still to see him flourish this summer.
Griezmann admitted himself he did not have a good opening game against Austria. He had the fewest touches per 90 minutes (47.5) of his last 29 starts. You have to scroll back to October 2021, when he averaged 37.4 against Spain in the UEFA Nations League, to find a contribution less marked.
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The Atletico Madrid forward felt fatigued after France’s two pre-tournament friendlies with the team’s preparation work so intense.
“At 33, you don’t recover as quickly,” the vice-captain said, before providing reassurances that he was “100 per cent” and “felt better”. “You know me by now. It’s been 10 years — I’m not particularly looking to score,” he said after the first group game. “I want to win, I want the team to win. If it’s with a goal (from me), so much the better. If not, I’m going to win.”
After the Netherlands game, Deschamps noted Griezmann’s improvement from his first outing even if he failed to convert his chances — he had more shots (five) than anyone else. But Griezmann’s movement was intelligent, as silky as his flowing locks, drifting left or right, up or down the pitch, rotating well in midfield to find pockets of space between the lines.
The France boss conceded the 33-year-old had enjoyed a “busy season” with Atletico and pointed to the intensity of the “high-level matches” not being “easy”, alluding to his aforementioned fatigue. “I’ve spoken to him about it,” he said.
Griezmann was either rested or dropped for the Poland game. Deschamps refused to confirm which when asked.
“It was a choice with regards to the options I had — don’t read anything into it,” the manager warned. “I have different cards in my hand. It’s not a problem, I know what he’s made of, I know what he can do. I don’t know what gossip you’re hearing from the local baker or butcher. They (the players) will be unhappy because not everyone can play.
“But I’m not here to make people happy.”
Griezmann’s adaptability is actually one of his biggest strengths and why he is so valuable to Deschamps. The “coach’s darling”, as he has been described by Mbappe, has no fixed position and fulfils whatever role his manager demands of him.
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France’s talisman has played four different roles in each of France’s games: central attacking midfielder, second striker, right midfield and, against Belgium, his latest position as right winger. He discovered he would be occupying that berth when Deschamps sought him out at the team hotel on Monday morning.
“I told him: ‘Let’s go, coach. I’m here for you, I’m here for the team,’” explained the forward.
“I’m not a winger who plays one-v-one. I’m left-footed, so I’m more interested in looking for one-twos. The coach told me to get wide and, from time to time, drift into the middle. That’s how I play my game. I can play in any position. It doesn’t matter where I am, I’m going to give 100 per cent all the time.”
From that flank, he had less of an impact on Monday and some connections were still not clicking. He still looked lethargic for periods of a dour contest.
But, even so, he was frequently involved in the attacking third, had 24 more touches compared to his underwhelming performance against Austria (71 vs 47), and linked well with Jules Kounde and N’Golo Kante on the right.
Indeed, Kounde credited his team-mate for his own man-of-the-match performance. Griezmann on the right helped his right-back in thwarting Belgium’s Jeremy Doku. “He helped me a lot defensively by cutting off the passing lines,” said Kounde. “Offensively it’s not his most natural or comfortable position, but he influenced the game.
“His passing was valuable. Obviously, he can do better. We know his quality.”
Deschamps never considered playing without Griezmann against the Belgians. He remains integral. “It’s just a question of balance,” he said. “I know Antoine. He can adapt. He was very engaging with the ball, especially when it comes to controlling the space. Antoine is intelligent.
“When there are big games, I know I can count on him.”
Now those big games are truly upon him. Griezmann is Deschamps’ pawn to place wherever he wishes but, when he is given the freedom to orchestrate France’s attack, they will be expecting him to deliver checkmate.
(Top photo: Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images))
