EURO 2024: Griezmann believes 'Spain were better than France' in semi-final clash
Jul 10, 2024
New Delhi [India], July 10 : After his side's disappointing exit from the EURO 2024, French striker Antoine Griezmann said that Spain was better than Les Bleus in the semi-final clash of the tournament.
Griezmann was named in the first eleven against Spain in the semi-final match of the EURO 2024 and made it into the field in the 62nd minute of the match. The 33-year-old replaced N'Golo Kante on the field. The Atletico Madrid striker could just make only one shot on goal and failed to create a single chance in the game.
Speaking after the match, Griezmann said that France made few mistakes in the even after knowing Spain's strengths. He accepted that the equaliser from the La Rojas hurt France in the semi-final clash.
The French striker said that there's no point in giving excuses about being tired. He concluded by saying that Spain were better in everything.
"They were better than us. We knew they could hit the ball well from distance and we let them shoot from distance. We knew Lamine is left-footed and we let him hit it with his left foot. The equaliser hurt us and the second goal four minutes later killed us. That's football, we lacked that today. It was our strong point from the start but we lost against a strong Spain. No excuses about having legs cut off or anything, they played extra time too. They were better in everything," Griezmann was quoted by Goal.com as saying.
Recapping the match, all it took for Spain was moments of brilliance from Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo to punch their tickets in Berlin for the final of Euro 2024.
It was a neck-to-neck tie right from the moment when the referee Slavko Vincic blew the whistle to mark the beginning of an enticing semi-final in Munich.
Spain got hold of the possession without wasting much and threatened to break the stalemate with Lamine Yamal bombarding crosses from the right side and isolating France's players in their defensive half.
France tried to regroup but kept falling behind as the first half ended with Spain leading 2-1. In the second half, both teams began the game at high intensity. Spain pressed high up in the field, enjoyed possession and dominated France's defence.
France brought in a couple of attacking substitutes, including their leading goal-scorer Olivier Giroud. However, Spain held their nerves to see off the game and book their place in the final.
