Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann arrive at Euro 2024 with the spirit of revenge, after the failures of ‘Les Bleus’ in the 2016 and 2020 editions
The last image of France in a Euro Cup is the penalty missed by Kylian Mbappé in the penalty shootout of the 2021 round of 16 against Switzerland; another missed opportunity, like the failed final of 2016 amid the lamentation of Antoine Griezmann and the frustration of the most favorite team of all, which begins the tournament against Austria.
Mbappethe signing of the summer, his move from Paris Saint Germain to Real Madrid already announced, comes into play in Germany 2024. All the spotlights are on him, all the pressure surrounds him, all the expectations overwhelm the staging of the French phenomenon, which It has not yet reached its dimension in the Euro Cup, nor did France.
The last edition was disappointing for the then current world champion and now runner-up on the planet. In Europe it is not the same, even less so in the 2021 edition, when the ruling of Mbappe reduced it to the round of 16. To a lesser place.
After 3-3 throughout the 90 minutes, immovable in the 30 extra minutes, everyone scored their shot from the eleven meters except Mbappé. Not only that. He did not score a single goal in any of his four duels. And in the first game against Germany, despite the ‘bleu’ victory, they disallowed a goal. None of his 47 goals in 78 duels have come in continental competition. In contrast, 12 are in the World Cup. He now he is the captain. This season he has scored 44 goals.
Behind the maelstrom of his future, his signing for the real Madridalso overcome the blow suffered in the penultimate friendly against Luxembourg that kept him limping for a few days, taken care of to the maximum by the coaching staff, Mbappé is ready, as is each and every one of his teammates, including Kingsley Coman, after suffering from pharyngitis, and Aurelien Tchouameni, predictably, drops the last duels.
In the 2016 edition, Mbappé had not yet made his international debut, when France, in his country, reached the final… And lost it: 1-0 against Portugal with Éder’s goal at the Saint Denis stadium in Paris.
Five goals and two assists were not enough for him. Griezmann in the impressive route of France, already with Didier Deschamps as coach, with five wins and one draw until that final.
Atlético’s total player is also a total player in France. A leader on the field, who aims for that position more as a midfielder, link, creator and distributor than as a finisher, after his campaign with some ups and downs in the final stretch with the red and white team. He started at full strength, went down at the end and finished with 24 goals.
“I want to win the Euro Cup. 2016 hurt me a lot. The same as the last Euro Cup. I face this competition with great ambition. The key will be our defense, our solidity in duels, that is what will help us go as far as possible. Defense is boring to watch, I know. But it makes winning. Maybe we are favorites, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Griezmann warned at the beginning of the concentration.
Opposite, Austria, without David Alaba, their captain, on the field. The loss of the Real Madrid defender is extremely important for Austria.
His importance is such that, even without any possibility of playing any minutes due to the rupture of the cruciate ligament in his left knee, he is in the Euro Cup call-up as the team’s “captain without playing,” according to his coach, Ralf Rangnick.
Beyond Alaba, Austria, whose footballers mostly play in the German and Austrian Bundesliga, shines above all in its midfield, with Christoph Baumgartner (Leipzig), Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich) or Marcel Sabitzer, finalist of the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund as an undisputed starter.
Above you have Marko Arnautovic, your goalscorer and Serie A champion with Inter Milan, or Michael Gregoritsch, from Freiburg.
Austria, second in its qualifying group just one point behind Belgium, has five consecutive victories, has only lost one of its last 16 international matches (it even beat Turkey 6-1 in one of the most recent), has won six of their last seven games and in the last edition of the Euro Cup they reached the round of 16, when they lost in extra time against the champion, Italy. A warning for Griezmann and Mbappé.
