Exit Griezmann, welcome Guendouzi.
After Antoine Griezmann, in trouble with his left ankle, was forced to throw in the towel for the March matches, against Germany on Saturday and Chile on Tuesday 26, the Blues staff chose to call on Mattéo Guendouzi (7 caps, 1 goal) to replace him.
The former OM midfielder, 24, who is having a good season with Lazio Rome, returns to the French team after a year and a half of absence.
His last appearance with the Blues dates back to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar against Tunisia (0-1).
Despite a fairly long eclipse, the former Marseillais made no secret of his desire to return to the selection at the first opportunity.
“Going to Qatar was a great goal,” he declared in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero in October.
I know I have to work hard to go to Germany next summer.
I know Deschamps follows me, I've been there since I was 19.
I have to play and play well to get back there.
»
After 84 matches in a row with the French team, Antoine Griezmann's longevity record ends there...
Injured in the ankle, Grizi is replaced by Matteo Guendouzi.
Good recovery Antoine 💙 pic.twitter.com/mdarOAljm2
— French team ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) March 18, 2024
He also needed a bit of a helping hand from fate, in the form of an injury affecting Griezmann.
“With Antoine's qualities in his register, we are not going to find a player who has his characteristics,” explained Deschamps before the announcement of Griezmann's package.
A replacement position for position is very, very, very difficult to find.
We will arrange it differently.
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Injured ankle in February in the Champions League, Atlético Madrid's favorite player still played with the Colchoneros for the eighth return of C1 against Inter Milan (0-1, 2-1, 3 shots on goal at 2) on Wednesday, then again held its place against Barcelona in the league on Sunday (0-3).
But, in his state, it is obviously more reasonable to skip the two friendly matches against Germany and Chile.
Griezmann's withdrawal, however, marks the end of his remarkable series of 84 consecutive matches in the blue jersey.