Griezmann to miss international duty with France for first time since 2016

Antoine Griezmann was on Monday ruled out of France’s friendlies against Germany and Chile with an ankle sprain ending his record run of playing 84 consecutive games for Les Bleus.

The Atletico Madrid star will be absent from the French squad for the first time since November 2016 as France play their final friendlies before the Euro 2024 tournament from June 14-July 14.

Griezmann has appeared on the pitch for France in every match since a friendly against England in June 2017, when the forward was an unused sub.

Lazio’s Matteo Guendouzi has been called up for the first time since the last World Cup in place of 127-cap Griezmann, who has scored 44 goals for France.

Coach Didier Deschamps has described Griezmann as “not irreplaceable but essential” for the France set-up, but accepted the recommendations of the team doctor, the French football federation said.

The 32-year-old missed four games for Atletico before returning last week and scoring in the Champions League against Inter Milan with the Spanish side advancing to the quarter-finals on penalties.

He also came on at half-time in the 3-0 defeat against Barcelona in La Liga on Sunday.

“Antoine has a problem with his ankle, which reacted even though he played 45 minutes last night,” Deschamps said.

Guendouzi has played seven times for France, scoring one goal. He last played in the final group match in the Qatar World Cup, a 1-0 defeat against Tunisia.

“With Antoine’s qualities we’re not going to find a player who has his characteristics,” Deschamps said.

“A replacement position for position is very, very, very difficult to find. We will arrange things differently.”

Away from Griezmann: Workforce review
AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan is also an injury doubt while Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembele is recovering from a punctured eardrum.

Deschamps said he was optimistic for Adrien Rabiot, Lucas Hernandez and Ibrahima Konate.

Liverpool defender Konate has not played the last three matches for the English club and was also absent for France in September and November due to injury.

“Ibou had some little niggling problems, he’s coming off a season where he played a lot,” said Deschamps.

For his final “workforce review” before revealing his European championships squad mid-May, Deschamps said he wanted “to involve as many players as possible”.

The objective, he said, would be for the two-time European champions to anticipate what may happen in May or June because “we’re never safe” from injuries.

“We are not here to try things, we know the players,” he insisted.

However, Deschamps did not call up any newcomers, brushing aside speculation around 21-year-old PSG attacker Bradley Barcola.

“We’re in rehearsal, to try different combinations in the two matches,” Deschamps added.

France play two friendlies against European hosts Germany on March 23 in Lyon and Chile three days later in Marseille.

Deschamps’ side then open their European campaign on June 17 in Duesseldorf against Austria.

King Ademola Lookman Brings Out His Love

Like his father opened up, Ademola Lookman is essentially a private person, who prefers to do his stuff without all the media blitz.

But on one of his biggest days, when he was crowned Africa’s best player, he could not but make the first public appearance with the woman in his life – Jayda Love.

‘Adebobo’ would even steal a moment on his big night to kiss his American beau.

The 27-year-old Super Eagles star is still single.

Rumours of this romance first surfaced in the summer when the couple appeared to have spent the holidays together.

This was after ‘Mola’ scored his unforgettable hat-trick for Atalanta to win the UEFA Europa League in super style.

Jayda, an Information Technology specialist is based in Dallas, Texas, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2021 with a degree in public relations.

She follows Ademola Lookman and his foundation on social media.

She is also known to have visited him at his Italian base.

FIFA Rankings: Nigeria’s Super Eagles End 2024 Ahead Of Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have ended 2024 ranked as Africa’s fifth-best team in FIFA’s latest global standings, released Thursday morning, Soccernet.ng reports.

Despite a challenging end to the year that saw the team drop eight places to 44th globally, the Super Eagles still managed to hold their own against eternal continental rivals like South Africa, Cameroon, and Ghana.

This year’s ranking represents a mixed bag for Nigeria. While the team retained its fifth spot in Africa, their decline in global rankings was driven by underwhelming performances in key fixtures.

Most notably, the Super Eagles struggled during the final rounds of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, securing just a solitary point in lackluster outings against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Nigeria were forced to a scored draw by the Cheetahs in Abidjan only for Samuel Chukwueze’s excellent strike to end up as consolation in a 2-1 home defeat to the Wasps.

Looking at year-to-year standings, at this time in 2023, Nigeria’s Super Eagles were ranked 42nd in the world but sixth on the continent.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana showed marked improvement, climbing th

Cameroon and Ghana, however, endured disappointing campaigns. Ghana’s Black Stars finished the year ranked 77th, a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles within the Black Stars setup.

At the continental summit, Morocco retained their status as the continent’s best, finishing as Africa’s top-ranked team in 14th place globally.

Senegal (17th), Egypt (33rd), and Algeria (37th) rounded out the top four, with Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, and South Africa completing the top 10.

Globally, Argentina retained their position as FIFA’s top-ranked team, followed by France, Spain, England, and Brazil.

With 1,181 international matches played across the calendar year, the rankings reflected consistent dominance from the world’s elite teams.

As Nigeria enter 2025, all eyes will be on the Super Eagles to reignite their competitive spark, with the World Cup qualifiers returning in the first quarter of the year.

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Mbappé: Would Have Been ‘Fun’ To Play With Cristiano Ronaldo

Kylian Mbappé has said he wishes he could have played with Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, the club’s all-time leading scorer.

The France international has been a teammate of other football icons but would have relished playing alongside Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Portugal captain.

“I’ve played with great players: Lionel Messi, Neymar, [Antoine] Griezmann, [Paul] Pogba, [Karim] Benzema…” Mbappé told BeINsports.

“It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo — it’s going to be very difficult now — but I was lucky enough to play against him, a legend of the sport.”

Ronaldo, 39, left the Spanish giants in 2018 now plays for Saudi Pro-League side Al Nassr.

Mbappé helped Madrid win the Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, his second title since joining the Spanish giants in the summer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired.

Speaking to young people with disabilities as part of the BeUNITED program, Mbappe, 25, said he would have never left Paris Saint-Germain had it not been to join Madrid.

“I went to the biggest club in the world,” the 2018 World Cup winner said.

“I have always said that it was the only club I would have left PSG for. If I hadn’t been able to go to Madrid, I would have stayed at PSG all my life.”

Although Mbappé has been prolific for Madrid so far, he has faced criticism for his all-round performances with the team having suffered some high-profile defeats earlier in the season.

“Since I was 14, everyone told me I was going to be great,” Mbappé said.

“But when you’re big, sometimes you feel small…At first I was too hungry and it played tricks on me because I was impatient. But I have passion and this competitive side.

“My dream now is to win trophies with my team, not individual awards. What great title is left for me? The Champions League, but I’m in the best club in the world for that.”