MOSCOW ¨C If Antoine Griezmann¡¯s jocular demeanor is anything to go by, France is far from overawed by the prospect of playing in the World Cup final and in buoyant spirits ahead of Sunday¡¯s clash with Croatia.
The diminutive striker was full of bonhomie on Friday at a news conference at the team¡¯s training base outside of Moscow, joking with and teasing reporters as well as the team¡¯s veteran press officer Philippe Tournon, who retires after the tournament.
¡°We lost when I was top goal scorer at Euro 2016,¡± he joked, ¡°so this time I¡¯ve tried to score fewer goals to see if it helped us to win.
¡°I have tried to manage my play, when to keep the ball, when to accelerate. If I score, so much the better, but I am a player who thinks first of all about the team.¡±
He cut short a questioner who wanted a response to criticism from Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who accused the French of playing negative soccer in their semifinal on Tuesday.
¡°No, no, no . . . Let¡¯s not go there. I don¡¯t care about that. I want the star (on the jersey). How we play to win the game I do not care! Thibaut Courtois must stop (his criticism). Does his team Chelsea play like Barcelona?¡±
On the tactics for Sunday¡¯s final at the Luzhniki Stadium, Griezmann hinted that coach Didier Deschamps was hatching particular plans.
¡°It¡¯s up to the coach to choose the tactics, but there is (Luka) Modric and also (Ivan) Rakitic to consider. These are two very technically strong players who are essential for Croatia. . .¡±
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