France flounder in first match without Antoine Griezmann for seven years
Moving on in sport is never easy, even if the process is made easier by having the world’s best player at your disposal. France have an impressive recent record in international tournaments, having reached the finals in three of the last four, but their best performances – their elimination of Germany in 2016, their shackling of Belgium and Uruguay in 2018 – have been driven by canny midfielders who are full of running and self-sacrifice.
A hallmark of Didier Deschamps’ style, this was best exemplified by the leather-lunged Blaise Matuidi and N’Golo Kanté, but even Paul Pogba turned in workmanlike displays in the centre of the park. With Pogba banned, Matuidi retired and Kanté having swanned off to Saudi Arabia, his form undone by injuries, they require a succession plan.
Yes, France reached the final of the last World Cup, but they failed to really stamp their authority on any one match. Besides their quarter-final against England, they were not really tested before they faced Argentina. Their midfield was uneven, with Kylian Mbappé’s goals and Antoine Griezmann’s new role helping to paper over the cracks.
Griezmann is a complete footballer at the top of his game for more than a decade. He has a fair case to be considered the best player in the world not named Mbappé without a Ballon d’Or. A winger or second striker for much of his career, he has been used more often as a No 8 for his country in recent tournaments. In that position he can both drive the attack while also knitting play together, seemingly often on his own.
Before Saturday night, Griezmann had featured in France’s last 84 matches – a world record run that dates back seven years. Injury kept him out of France’s 2-0 defeat to Germany on Saturday – a game that offered a worrying preview of what life without the 33-year-old will be like. It’s a strange situation for France. It’s not as if the manager lacks options:
Aurélien Tchouameni has looked like a canny buy at Real Madrid; Adrien Rabiot has impressed for France despite looking uninterested for Juventus; and teenager Warren Zaïre-Emery could be a generational talent.
However, that trio – with Tchouameni holding and Rabiot on the left in a 4-3-3 - were unquestionably the