France beat Belgium in the 8th finals of the Euro by surprising their opponent in particular. Didier Deschamps had reserved a little surprise for his opponent by going through a 4-3-3 with the trio Kanté-Tchouaméni-Rabiot in the midfield. Antoine Griezmann played on the right side where he did not have a big influence on the game. “Small score but qualification for the quarters. Don’t bother with a small score, we’re in the quarters”the vice-captain even let slip to the media after the qualification. Later, the number 7 explained how he had learned the coach’s tactical system, just a few hours before the match.
“The coach came to my room and told me. I said ‘go coach, let’s go’. The last time (I played on a wing) was at Real Sociedad but on the left side. Maybe even in the national team with Dimitri Payet on the left. I had to adapt. I felt good. I tried to find depth and make runs in the middle to leave Jules (Koundé) all alone. I had two or three positions where I could have shot and I didn’t. I looked for one-twos.” reacted the top scorer in the history of Atlético de Madrid. A choice that paid off since there is qualification.