France’s national team put in a lackluster performance against Belgium in the Round of 16 of the 2024 European Championship early on July 2nd, narrowly winning 1-0 thanks to a late own goal from Vertonghen. However, the victory was not met with praise, with French sports daily L’Équipe launching sharp criticism at the team’s two star forwards, Griezmann and Mbappé.
Regarding Griezmann, L’Équipe bluntly stated: “For a player of his caliber, how can his performance be so poor? While his deployment on the right flank may partly explain it, it cannot completely mask his lackluster performance. Frequent mistakes in his on-field choices, rough technical execution, poor set-piece handling, and limited chances created: it’s hard to find any positive aspects.”
The newspaper gave Griezmann a dismal score of 3 out of 10.
In terms of statistics, Griezmann played the full 90 minutes, attempting two shots with only one on target, failing to score, and losing possession 12 times.
As for Mbappé, L’Équipe expressed similar dissatisfaction: “It’s baffling how such a talented player can be so inefficient. Five shots on goal, none on target, is unacceptable. When playing on the left flank, his handling slowed down the pace of the game. The signature deep runs we’ve seen in the past were absent. While he showed glimpses of his speed advantage in individual duels, these moments were few and far between. He had almost zero interaction with Thuram and Griezmann, and his physical condition seemed suboptimal.”
L’Équipe awarded Mbappé a low score of 4 out of 10.
Mbappé also played the full 90 minutes, attempting five shots with none on target, and losing possession a whopping 14 times.
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