GRIEZ ISTHE WORD
Striker’s full of himself but struggles to name many Aussie players
FRANCE boss Didier Deschamps may have warned that Antoine Griezmann is ready to take the World Cup by storm after committing his future to Atletico Madrid.
But the worry in the French camp is that the 27-year-old striker may have handed Australia even bigger incentive to ring the cockerel’s neck today after admitting he would struggle to name more than three Socceroos players.
Both Deschamps and captain Hugo Lloris played down Griezmann’s bizarre decision to inform the world in an egotistical documentary that he was turning his back on a £90million move to Barcelona to stay with Atletico just 48 hours before France kick off their World Cup campaign. And manager and skipper were also on the same page when it came to giving the Aussie’s due respect.
Deschamps said: “Two things come to mind. First of all is the loyalty and commitment to Atletico Madrid that Antoine has shown. And, most importantly for us, he has freed his mind for the World Cup. That is certainly a very good thing for us.
“How he made the announcement didn’t matter. It was the content that was more important.” When asked about the change of philosophy implemented by Bert van Marwijk, the Dutchman who took over as Aussie coach following Ange Postecoglou’s shock resignation just a week after qualification had been sealed, the Frenchman skillfully backtracked after initially putting his foot in it. Deschamps, who lifted the World Cup as France captain in 1998, added: “He picked up a team that was already qualified, so all the merit belongs to the previous coach. But he has made changes.
“The players are the same, but Australia play differently. They have offensive potential. They don’t play high balls, they play on the ground and through the wide positions. I am certainly not saying there is no quality in their team. There is quality.”
Spurs No.1 Lloris, who will skipper the youngest French team to grace a World Cup since the inaugural tournament in Uruguay 88 years ago, said: “We laughed about Antoine’s video. He must feel good right now. He had to be free of the pressure that he has been feeling over the last few weeks.
“We know that the Australian team are going to fight. We expect a battle. We have studied them and we know what to expect – and the important thing is to win our individual duels.
“We have a lot of ambition but we must also be humble.”