Antoine Griezmann has been in scintillating form for France. His goal scoring has been both prolific and crucial for his country, who now face Portugal in the final. Most recently he snatched a brace in a smash-and-grab win over Germany. If any player is to score in the final, it’s him. His success so far has been due to his clinical shot accuracy, individual and assisted creation of chances and his mental attributes.
Statistical Analysis of Antoine Griezmann Success
Goals and Shot Accuracy
He has managed to score six goals, eclipsing nearest rivals Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale by three. In addition, he has scored his goals in just as many matches which highlight how consistent he is in his goal scoring. There is simply no competition in terms of goal scoring.
Griezmann has 80% shot accuracy. In comparison, Ronaldo has fired only 58% of his shots on target, and Bale has 72%. He is clinical, unlike Ronaldo who seems to shoot on sight. He has found more success because he is much more supported by the talents around him. This is primarily in the form of Olivier Giroud and Dimitri Payet, but also in Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi.
Giroud and Payet help ease the burden on the goals, whilst Pogba and Matuidi support him with passing or by making attacking runs on the edge of the box. In addition, France don’t solely rely on him whilst players like Ronaldo or Bale feel their entire nation’s pressure to conjure up something special.
Creation
Eden Hazard (Four), Aaron Ramsey (Four) and Ronaldo (Three) all have more assists, but Griezmann is a finisher rather than a creator. These other players may have created four goals, but he has scored six. Arguably, there should be some credit for the creators, as without them, he wouldn’t have scored as many.
His dribbling ability has proved a real threat, highlighted in the match against Germany, and he uses it to help start moves for his team; something which doesn’t show up in the assists stats. His dribbling wins free-kicks (he has won six so far) on the edge of the area, allowing his team-mates to have a shot on goal. With Payet lining one up, winning free-kicks in these key areas is even more deadly.
Mental Attributes
His brilliance isn’t just physically and technically, but also mentally. Despite not converting a penalty in the Champions League Final he has scored both penalties so far in Euro 2016. This shows real strength of mind to put such horrific moments behind him, trusting in his ability to score from 12-yards.
His mental strength is also shown in his tenacity, always willing to make attacking runs or to close down opponents. Constantly on the front foot, he works hard and is determined to keep up his goalscoring record. He is willing to compete with any defender, and despite a rather paltry looking 43% of average duels won, his diminutive frame still allows him to nick headers and pinch the ball from the feet of gigantic defenders.
