Antoine Griezmann, Deschamps’ midfield masterstroke

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Antoine Griezmann provided a Man of the Match performance as France made it back-to-back World Cup final berths after defeating Morocco 2-0 at the al-Bayt Stadium in Qatar.

Prior to the tournament, Griezmann was considered one of the French’s top attackers looking to play behind star strikers Kylian Mbappe and Ballon d’or winner Karim Benzema. Injuries have decimated the French squad forcing coach and French World Cup winner Didier Deschamps to make some drastic changes.

The loss of midfielders Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante has left the defending champions dangerously short in midfield, but Deschamps has found an unlikely solution in striker Antoine Griezmann.

Griezmann has seamlessly dropped deeper into central midfield, becoming arguably the best French player in Qatar alongside golden boot leader Mbappe.

This deeper box-to-box role has given Griezmann a more influential role in the French’s build-up play, having created the most chances out of any player in Qatar, the shift in responsibility has shown just how complete the Atletico Madrid attacker’s skillset truly is.

The semi-final victory against Morocco was Griezmann’s 73rd consecutive appearance for France, proving that despite the years lost to his failed Barcelona move, the EURO 2016 golden boot winner is still capable of providing on the biggest stage.

Didier Deschamps will once again look to a reinvigorated Antoine Griezmann as they attempt to make the first successful World Cup title defence in 60 years when they take on a determined and dogged Argentina in the final.

Photo: Twitter/@_Sombrero7

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Dylan Johnson