France forward Antoine Griezmann has spoken about his budding understanding with the mercurial Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé but emphasised the importance of the collective as Les Bleus look to go all the way in Russia.


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France’s 3-1 friendly win over Italy gave a glimpse of what fans can expect from Les Bleus in attack – breathless, high-paced passing and movement coupled with clinical finishing – and Griezmann believes that better is yet to come from this uber-talented attacking trio.

‘On the right track’

We’re winning, and that proves that we’re on the right track, the Atlético Madrid superstar told French football show Téléfoot. But we still have a lot of things to work on, both in attack and defence. That was my first time out with Ousmane and Kylian. I know they’re super-quick so I end up dropping back a bit. I struggled a bit with my positioning early on, but as the match played out, we started to find each other a bit better. That’s why you have to have a chance to work – to develop our understanding with each other to the point of being match-ready in a fortnight’s time.

The 4-3-3 formation that France boss Didier Deschamps chose against Italy was just one of three potential looks for Les Bleus, and the newest after a number of matches in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. With Olivier Giroud playing a target-man role, Griezmann gets closer to goal, but the Colchonero isn’t about to make any demands concerning where he is played.

‘I adapt’

You need to find the right tactic for the team, because that comes before everything else, he declared. My position is secondary, and I adapt. The coach will make his choices as a function of the opponent and the ideas he has in mind. I have complete confidence in this team and the coaching staff. We need to keep our feet on the ground but we need to really tear it up at the World Cup.

After the Italy match, Griezmann announced that he would be deciding his club future – the silky-skilled star has been strongly linked with a move to La Liga rivals Barcelona – before the beginning of the World Cup, but isn’t feeling any pressure.

‘Completely focused’


My future is not posing me any problems; I’m completely focused on the World Cup, he declared. I’m doing well, I’m full of confidence and that’s great.