NIZHNY NOVGOROD: Antoine Griezmann admitted France’s quarterfinal against Uruguay today will be hard for him, not only because he has to face good friend and teammate Diego Godin, but also because he views himself as part Uruguayan.
The star striker plays alongside Godin at Atletico Madrid and the pair are good friends, with the rugged defender the godfather of Griezmann’s daughter Mia.
Griezmann’s love affair with Uruguay began when he was handed his breakthrough at Real Sociedad by Martin Lasarte in 2009.
Having spent his entire career in Spain, Griezmann has always had a steady stream of Uruguayan teammates.
“Diego is a great friend. I am with him every day in Madrid,” Griezmann told reporters ahead of the clash in Nizhny Novgorod. “It is a nationality that I love, a people that I love. It will be a very emotional match for me.”
“He says he is Uruguayan,” said Godin. “He made his debut with Martin Lasarte and had a lot of time for him.
“He has always been surrounded by Uruguayan players. He likes how we are and our customs: Eating the barbecue, our music, he even drinks more mate than me!”
But while they are good friends, Griezmann is under no illusions as to what France are up against in Nizhny Novgorod. “They will waste time, they will fall down, surround the referee. It’s their game, it’s the same at Atletico,” said Griezmann. “The match will be boring, they will want us to fall into their trap.”
After laboring through to the last 16 as winners of Group C despite
scoring just three goals, France sprang into life thanks to the speed of Kylian Mbappe in a thrilling 4-3 win over Argentina.
Griezmann, though, knows Godin and another Atletico teammate, Jose Maria Gimenez, will not give Mbappe the same space to exploit his pace that a disorganized Argentina did.
Uruguay have conceded just once in winning all seven of their matches in 2018.
“Do not expect him to do too much of the same in the quarters,” warned Griezmann of heightened expectations after Mbappe drew parallels with Pele when he became the first teenager since the Brazilian to score at least twice in a World Cup match.
“The Uruguayans will have watched the match, they will change the way to defend him. It’s up to us to put him in good positions.”
ARAB NEWS PREDICTS: France to win 2-1 — A lot depends on France coach Didier Deschamps, but if he allows his team to play then we can only see a France win, not least if Uruguay’s injured striker Edinson Cavani cannot play.
