Forget Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann is France's true danger to England in World Cup quarter-final

Antoine Griezmann seems to have gone through this tournament with little fanfare due primarily no doubt to the fact he has not troubled the scorers.

Yet that one statistic should not detract from what has been a hugely influential tournament from one of European football’s most accomplished footballers.

Qatar 2022 has seen a reinvention of Griezmann, for so long a forward who could operate on the right or through the middle during a club career spent with Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, he has been deployed by France head coach Didier Deschamps as a floating No 8 for Les Bleus in the Middle East, operating behind the front three of Mbappe, Giroud and Ousmane Dembele.

Four years ago in Russia, Griezmann scored four goals as France won the World Cup, Giroud scoring none.

Present-day statistics might suggest that with Giroud adding three goals to a game that involves generating space for Mbappe, and Griezmann creating opportunities and carrying a threat from behind, France are even stronger than they were when they won it.

There is one statistic that points to Griezmann’s creativity – according to whoscored.com he has delivered more key passes than anyone at this World Cup – but otherwise it’s the movements, the subtle touches that go unnoticed by the sport bean counters, that mark Griezmann out as such an effective weapon.

Given a roving brief by Deschamps, he can pop up in attack as he did when he had a goal chalked off for a marginal offside against Tunisia, in front of the back four to launch another offensive, on the left to create space for Mbappe, or on the right, as he did when he fizzed in a devilish cross against the Danes that only needed Mbappe to attack and get a body part on to steer it past Kasper Schmeichel for the winner. Griezmann possesses a wand of a left foot. His set-piece delivery is second to none. Time and again, right-wing corners are put right on the heads of defenders attacking the corridor of uncertainty between the edge of the six-yard box and the penalty spot. Harry Maguire would have a field day attacking those for England. His job tonight is to get that slab of his on each and every one of Griezmann’s deliveries to head them away from danger.

What makes Griezmann’s contribution from deep so unexpected is that over the last couple of years it barely looked plausible.

Griezmann had lost his way at Barcelona and was loaned back to Atletico Madrid, the club where he had enjoyed such highs.

But even as recently as the summer, the slump he was in was affecting his place in the national team.

“His state of mind is not the best and he isn’t going to leave it all behind him with a click of the fingers,” Deschamps told a press conference in June.

“Antoine can go through a period in which things aren’t going well. Including here at the national team, where he usually has a big influence. These are difficult situations for many players.”

Griezmann had been integral four summers earlier, and for that he had credit in the bank.

Deschamps was not going to give up on him easily, and when Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante were removed from his World Cup squad through injury, Deschamps clicked his fingers and reinvented his little magician.

"He has everything to play deeper: the vision, the work rate, the touch, the energy, the intelligence," explained Deschamps.

And Griezmann has thrived.

"I am quite free in this new role,” he said during the group phase.

"I must be the link between the defence and the forwards. I have three players in front of me, so more options, so it is easier for me.

"The head coach likes to discuss with the players, know how you are feeling, and then he will find the best balance for the team. We are finding it. I feel great physically, which is helping me in this new position. I know the team needs me in a deeper, more central position. I think I have had good performances so far, so I am very happy."

Good performances is an understatement, as it would be to say the respect between the two men, both World Cup-winning players with the national team, runs deep.

"I owe him everything in the national team,” Griezmann said of Deschamps.

"I give everything for France, for the shirt but also for him. And I am trying to do everything I can so he keeps trusting me. Every move, every game is like a 'thank you' that I am sending him.

"I want him to be proud of me."

Keeping Mbappe quiet is one thing for England tonight , negating the influence of Antoine Griezmann is another challenge entirely.