ZCZC
BSP-24
FOOTBALL-WC-GRIEZMANN
France’s Griezmann responds to Courtois: ‘I don’t care how we win’
MOSCOW, July 13, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) — France forward Antoine Griezmann has
hit back at Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after he accused Les Bleus of
winning their World Cup semifinal by playing “anti-football”.
France withstood periods of Belgian dominance in Tuesday’s match and went
ahead via a Samuel Umtiti header in the second half. Didier Deschamps’ side
then defended resolutely to grind out a 1-0 victory and book a berth in
Sunday’s final against Croatia.
After the match several Belgium players – including Courtois and his
Chelsea teammate Eden Hazard – criticized France’s approach to the match.
“It’s just an anti-football team,” Courtois said. “Their striker plays 30
metres from his own goal. France heads a corner and does nothing more than
defend. I would have preferred to have lost in the quarter-finals to Brazil,
at least that was a team that wanted to play football.”
In a press conference on Friday, Griezmann said: “Does Thibaut Courtois
think that at Chelsea he plays Barcelona football? I don’t care how we win. I
want a second star to be on this shirt. That is all.”
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