Days ahead of a high-profile quarter-final at FIFA World Cup 2018 against France, Uruguay’s players reminded Antoine Griezmann of his links to Luka Modric’s men.
Griezmann, star France forward, plays with Uruguayan defenders Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin at Atletico Madrid, met them at Madrid airport in a Uruguayan shirt when they sealed qualification for Russia, and even enjoys the ‘mate’ tea loved by the South Americans.
“Griezmann is very Uruguayan, he passes himself off as a Uruguayan. For him, it’s going to be a special game, like for us,” midfielder Nahitan Nandez told reporters at the Uruguayan base outside Nizhny Novgorod where they will play Friday’s game.
“All I can say is that we hope he behaves well on the pitch and remembers he is half Uruguayan!”
Such is the close relationship that Godin is godfather to Griezmann’s daughter.
Griezmann has scored two goals in the World Cup so far. Against Argentina in the Round of 16, Griezmann scored France first goal off a penalty earned by Kylian Mbappe. While Mbappe pace wrecked havoc at the Argentine defence, Griezmann’s sharp passes and little runs quitely initiated France’s superlative attack.
In their last major tournament, Griezmann was France’s star forward. He scored six goals in Euro 2016, the highest tally of the tournament, to lead France to the final, where they lost to Portugal. France will be up against the strong Uruguayans. Griezmann will be up against the staunch defence that shields his side at the club level.
Griezmann knows he is up against similar faces but that might play to his advantage. He recently even said that Uruguay will play like Atletico Madrid and defend hard to look to break when they get their chances.