Antoine Griezmann, the Barcelona 'island' in a struggling France
Dembele has gone home, Benzema is not firing and they drew with Hungary
The French camp is not happy. The team, which was seen as reliable in getting results if not a marvel aesthetically, has been called into question with the 1-1 draw against Hungary. Didier Deschamps’s side have not started well in the Euros.
The bad sensations were added to by Ousmane Dembele’s injury, ruling him out for three months. Karim Benzema has not found form on his return to action with Les Bleus. Deschamps for now has avoided too much criticism as the 2018 World Cup winner, but if conservatism is not reliable then it loses support.
Antoine Griezmann is now the only Barca player getting minutes for France. Lenglet is invisible with Varane and Kimpembe the centre-back pairing. And Dembele has packed his bags.
Griezmann has played every minute so far. He’s a spiritual leader in the dressing room where he feels totally at home. He works, defends, raises his voice, organises, scores. He’s scored one of the two goals so far. He’ll start again against Portugal.
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