Antoine Griezmann is more concerned with winning than entertaining. And that’s just as well, as France laboured to a scrappy 1-0 victory over Belgium in Dusseldorf which sent them through to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.
Les Bleus have not scored from open play or won by more than a one-goal margin across four games in Germany after Jan Vertonghen deflected Randal Kolo Muani’s late effort into his own net.
“It’s boring to watch but that’s how it is,” conceded Griezmann. “It makes you win. Don’t get caught up about the small scorelines, we’re in the quarter-finals!”
The victory set up a mouth-watering battle with tournament hosts Germany which midfielder Adrien Rabiot won’t play a part in.
The Frenchman picked up his second booking of the tournament and consequently a one-match ban for a first-half tackle on Jeremy Doku. And though Rabiot is gutted to be missing out, he remains confident that his team-mates can step up in his absence.
He said: “I’m disgusted to have taken this yellow. I find that the refereeing at the start of the match was a little limited. But I have confidence in the guys on the bench, I will be behind them. We’re ready for any type of challenge.”
Kylian Mbappe had to step back and let Kolo Muani take the plaudits on Monday evening but he was still a major threat down France’s left-hand side.
That’s despite the apparent hardship of wearing a mask to protect his broken nose. Mbappe described it as ‘absolutely horrible’ before the Belgium win and he has tried several different masks to try and find the perfect fit.
Hard-nosed France boss Didier Deschamps was on hand to serve up a reality check ahead of the quarter-finals. “The sweating bothers him a little,” said Deschamps. “His vision from the front is fine, but his lateral vision is not so good with the mask. But hey, he will have to get used to it because, to protect him, he will have to wear it for a few weeks or even a few months.”
Deschamps also took his chance to fire back at critics of Jules Kounde, who was superb bombing forward from right-back against Belgium.
“You’ve been scouring me about him for months,” he said. “Which just goes to show that you always have to have a little restraint. He is full of confidence and he feels good.”
