The 30-year-old striker is now 10 goals behind his country’s all-time top scorer Thierry Henry after his decisive performance against Finland
Antoine Griezmann became France’s joint-third top scorer of all time on Tuesday when he struck twice in the World Cup qualifying match against Finland.
Griezmann made the difference for Les Bleus as they secured a 2-0 win to extend their lead at the top of Group D.
The 30-year-old now has 41 goals to his name for France, putting him level with football legend Michel Platini.
What has been said?
Griezmann needed 98 caps to match the tally of the 1984 European Championship winner, while he is now 10 behind all-time leading scorer Thierry Henry.
“It’s a great source of pride,” he told TF1 of matching Platini’s record for the national team.
“Since I’ve been here, since 2014, I always try to bring the best, whether it’s goals, with my defensive or offensive work.”
Asked if Tuesday’s match was his finest performance for Les Bleus, the striker said: “There have been others. But I am very happy with my performance and that of the team.”
France end winless run
Tuesday’s win put an end to a disappointing run for France.
Didier Deschamps’ team disappointed at Euro 2020, drawing with Portugal and Hungary before they were eliminated by Switzerland in a penalty shootout at the last-16 stage.
They were then held to 1-1 draws by Bosnia-Herzegovina and Ukraine in the World Cup qualifying matches last week.
Griezmann was happy with their response against Finland, however, and feels they approached the game with the right mentality.
“We wanted this victory, to show that we were solid and that we didn’t lose everything,” he said.
“There was a good state of mind. We gave everything we had on the field and we tried to hurt them up front.
“What changed? Maybe we found a system that suits us better. We’ll see, the coach will decide. But this time we were strong. We had drawn five times, and it was starting to take a long time. Here, we won in style.”
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