This October international break will mark the start of a new era for France, with Antoine Griezmann no longer part of Didier Deschamps’ squad after announcing his retirement from Les Bleus earlier this week. The France squad for the UEFA Nations League matches against Israel and Belgium was announced a few days ago and also does not include captain Kylian Mbappe, who was injured for Real Madrid until a surprise performance against Lille in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.
Griezmann and Mbappé will leave a big gap between them, but the former’s absence will be especially felt after ten years of loyal service to Deschamps and France, which many feel ended too abruptly given the timing. The French tactician was full of praise for the Atletico Madrid star as he discussed the news on Thursday after unveiling his latest squad, which includes Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku and Lazio’s Matteo Guendouzi.
“It is clear that it is not a decision made on a whim; it was made by Antoine after reflection, which matured and came to fruition,” the spokesperson said. said Deschamps who has learned that by now Paul Pogba could return to the team from March 2025 further. “Antoine started as a professional at the age of 18 with full seasons and was rarely injured. He now reaches 33 and a half where the question becomes a natural one. With all the club competition and France there is physical and psychological fatigue.
“He has made this decision and it is a decision that he owns and that suits him well. He was not coerced or coerced into doing so. This certainly did not come about in two days. Antoine has thought about it during the last match, which happened.” with Hugo (Lloris) and Raphael (Varane). When we talk about physical fatigue, we don’t talk enough about the psychological fatigue. Our priorities at age 33 are not the same as they were at age 25. As always I had a good chat with him, but I could see that Antoine had come full circle. He had taken the time to think and I can only respect that.”
In many ways, France under Deschamps will now never be the same as the losses of Lloris, Varane, Olivier Giroud and Blaise Matuidi have all been keenly felt and N’Golo Kante could now be out again after one last hurray at UEFA Euro. 2024. However, the relationship between Griezmann and Deschamps had clearly become tense, especially after the 55-year-old opted for Mbappé when choosing Lloris’ successor in early 2023.
“I have been privileged to have Antoine since 2014 with everything he has been able to do on and off the pitch and the special relationship with him. It is strange that he is no longer here,” Deschamps added. “I can only thank him for everything he was able to do for this French team and he is a great example for young people because his career was not linear. Even in Bleu there were complicated periods, but he always remained generous and was always a leader in his own way. A page has been turned.”
Intriguingly, Griezmann is not the only notable absentee from Mbappe, and to a lesser extent Kante, from the latest squad. The French superstar has had a difficult start to life at Real, which was exacerbated by a losing return to his homeland in the UCL last midweek. However, despite that recovery from the injury, Deschamps is unlikely to reverse his decision to bring Mbappe back into the fold ahead of two away games, which would only exacerbate the physical demands on him.
“There is no problem with Kylian’s deployment,” Deschamps said. “I have discussed this with him several times since our last international match. Due to the words he could say, there could have been different interpretations. Kylian was not in the best psychological state when we last met for various reasons. However, being in Madrid with high expectations, without a real pre-season, was not ideal.”
In the long term, there are no doubts about Mbappé’s commitment to France, although the failure of Euro 2024 could see renewed debate about his captaincy, both on an individual and collective level. But for now, the mission to identify Griezmann’s successor begins this month, with Olise and Nkunku most likely to immediately benefit from the change as the Chelsea man tries to make up for lost time after injury problems derailed his development at Les Bleus while Pogba’s return is now also closer.
Olise has an advantage over Nkunku given his recent move to Germany – where his international teammate broke through at RB Leipzig – and his early Bayern form after a convincing Olympic Games in Paris and starting life at Les Blauw. Guendouzi has also enjoyed Deschamps’ confidence in the past and will hope to be rewarded with more chances, but that certainly seems to be the early pecking order to follow Griezmann – Olise, Nkunku and Guendouzi – at least until Pogba returns.
Additionally, it will be fascinating whether Deschamps simply replaces Griezmann with another player or completely changes his lineup, especially given the pressure created by UNL’s recent form. There is no shortage of creators in this side, with Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola in good form for Paris Saint-Germain, but the midfield feels more bereft of drive and ingenuity than ever before. This could be one of Deschamps’ biggest challenges yet, making Pogba’s potential return in 2025 particularly timely.