Antoine Griezmann will play his 81st consecutive meeting with the French team against the Netherlands.
This is probably the name that Didier Deschamps puts first on his match sheet. Friday evening, Antoine Griezmann should start with the France team against the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. He should therefore play his 81st consecutive match with the Blues, which is of course a record .
The last time the France team played a match without the irremovable number 7 was in Nantes, in May 2016, against Cameroon. It was the first preparation meeting for the Euro and Griezmann, who had played in the Champions League final two days earlier, was logically preserved. In the Blues lineup, we found Bacary Sagna, Patric Evra, a Pogba-Diarra-Matuidi trio, then Dimitri Payet and Kingsley Coman around Olivier Giroud.
Since then, not once has Griezmann been injured, suspended or preserved by Deschamps. It has always been used, for the most important matches as well as for lower-stakes matches. To provide some context, until the France 98 generation, the record for selections for the French team was 82, held by Manuel Amoros. Griezmann could do the same, without missing a single match.
The Madrilenian will celebrate his 124th selection, and is gradually getting closer to Hugo Lloris’ record (145 caps). He is unofficially the best passer in the history of the Blues (between 28 and 36 passes, depending on sources), and the third best scorer (44). Did you say legend?
