3 important things that Griezmann did not achieve during his career with the French national team
Antoine Griezmann (33 years old) announced his retirement from international football France national teamThis came after a career that extended for more than 10 years, specifically since the Atletico Madrid star played his first match in the “Roosters” shirt, on March 5, 2014.
Since that time, the “Little Prince” has played 137 matches with the French national team, scoring 44 goals, contributing significantly to the national team achieving important achievements, most notably winning the 2018 World Cup and the 2020-21 European Nations League.
However, there remain important things that the historic Atletico Madrid top scorer did not achieve during his international career with the first French national team.
Winning the European Nations Cup
Griezmann participated in three editions of the European Nations Cup finals (2016, 2020, 2024) with the French national team, but he did not succeed in winning the continental title.
The left-handed striker performed exceptionally well European Championship 2016which France hosted on its territory; He managed to score 6 goals, winning the “Best Player” and “Best Scorer” awards in the competition.
Grizo led the French team to qualify for the Euro 2016 final, but the team suffered a frustrating loss (0-1) against Portugal, wasting a valuable opportunity to win the Continental Cup for the third time.
The former Barcelona star’s suffering was renewed in the European Nations Cup finals. France bid farewell to the 2020 tournament in the 16-finals, before Didier Deschamps’ squad lost to Spain in the semi-finals of the 2024 edition.
An affordable record
Griezmann ranks fourth in the ranking of all-time top scorers for the French national team, behind Olivier Giroud (57 goals), Thierry Henry (51) and Kylian Mbappe (48).
In fact, it was “unlikely” for the Atleti star to surpass the trio preceding him… firstly because he was 13 goals away from the leaders, and secondly because of the presence of Mbappe in third place, knowing that the Real Madrid player is still 25 years old.
However, it can be said that “The Prince” was a strong candidate to become the “most capped player” for the French national team.
Antoine ended his international career, contenting himself with playing 137 matches with the French national team, ranking third on the list of players who most represented the “Roosters”, on par with Giroud.
Grizzo needed to play only 5 matches to equal the second-place finisher (Lillian Thuram), and only 8 matches to equal the record holder (Hugo Lloris).
Griezmann and the dream of the badge
After the French national team lost to its Argentine counterpart in the 2022 World Cup final, the team’s captain, Hugo Lloris, retired from international football, so coach Deschamps made the decision to give the captaincy to Mbappe.
Deschamps’ decision meant the evaporation of the “Little Prince’s” dream of becoming the first captain of the French national team, and at that time there were talks about the Atletico Madrid player feeling angry about the selection. Mbappe8 years younger than him.
It is true that Griezmann had the opportunity to carry the badge, after Kylian Mbappe was injured in the last European Championship, “Euro 2024”, but he was never the “first captain” of the French national team.
