“Maybe his religion doesn’t allow him to shoot” - Evra reacts to hilarious miss from Rabiot and Griezmann in France vs Netherlands at Euro 2024
Patrice Evra has reacted to a hilarious miss from Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann in France's EURO 2024 clash with the Netherlands on Friday (June 21). Les Bleus are without superstar Kylian Mbappe, as the 25-year-old sustained an injury against Austria and only made the bench.
WIthout Mbappe starting, France looked for a second win in their EURO 2024 group stage. While the first half ended goalless, Les Bleus had a massive chance to open the scoring.
Adrien Rabiot and Marcus Thuram linked up brilliantly to set the Juventus midfielder off inside the box. Rabiot was face-to-face with Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen but decided to cut the ball back for Antoine Griezmann to finish instead. However, the forward was unable to put it into the net from point-blank range.
That led to shocked reactions from Manchester United and France legend Patrice Evra, who remarked on Football Extraaa on Sony Sports Network:
“Griezmann should score there. Mbappe is not playing, you are the leader. Maybe his (Rabiot) religion doesn’t allow him to shoot, I can’t think of anything else. Or maybe he wanted to give Griezmann an early Christmas present.”
France need a win to reach the knockouts of EURO 2024. However, missing clear chances like that will be a cause for concern for head coach Didier Deschamps.
Antoine Griezmann starts as Kylian Mbappe benched for EURO 2024 clash vs the Netherlands
Kylian Mbappe was named as a substitute after getting injured in France's first EURO 2024 match against Austria. He was vital for the first goal of the game, as he sent a powerful cross into the box that met Austrian star Maximillan Wober, who headed into his own ent.
However, in the second half, he collided with Kevin Danso during a duel for the ball, with his nose getting broken in the process. It was later announced that he would need to wear a mask for the rest of the tournament, but there were no certainties that he would play against the Netherlands.
France head coach Didier Deschamps has put Mbappe on the bench. Deschamps opted to play Griezmann in a more attacking role along with Ousmane Dembele and Marcus Thuram.