Antoine Griezmann will hope to reclaim his place in France's starting line-up for their <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/euros/" target="_blank">Euro 2024 </a>last-16 clash with Belgium after being dropped for their last group game against Poland. The neighbours, ranked No 2 and No 3 in the world respectively by Fifa, meet in Dusseldorf on Monday aiming for a quarter-final showdown with Portugal or Slovenia. France's vice-captain Griezmann, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/fifa-world-cup-2022/2022/12/18/world-cup-argentina-the-new-champions-after-penalty-shootout-win-against-france/" target="_blank">pivotal to their run to the 2022 World Cup final</a>, has seen his form slump as Les Bleus have struggled for momentum. France emerged from Group D undefeated but were beaten to top spot by Austria as they <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2024/06/21/xavi-simons-goal-disallowed-as-france-and-netherlands-draw-in-euros-2024/" target="_blank">drew against the Netherlands</a> and Poland following their opening 1-0 victory against the Austrians. Griezmann paid the price for squandering a couple of excellent opportunities against the Dutch as he was dropped for the final game, with his manager Didier Deschamps saying: "It was a choice in relation to the options that I took.” The 33-year-old Atletico Madrid midfielder, playing in his sixth major tournament, has been something of a talisman for Deschamps. The manager switched him from being a striker to a midfield playmaker, whose creativity allowed those in front of him to prosper. Not since Euro 2016, when France lost the final as hosts, had Griezmann been omitted from the starting line-up in a major tournament game with something on the line. He has 44 goals in 132 internationals for France but has scored only two in his last 31 games for his country. But Griezmann will hope that the lacklustre 1-1 draw with Poland in the final game could mean a return to the starting XI against Belgium. "He's the type of player who can really change a team because he's so hard working and so technically gifted," Deschamps said earlier this year. "Of course, his main responsibility isn't ball winning; his left foot is so wonderful, he creates great chances for others." Kylian Mbappe is again expected to play in the protective mask he wore against the Poles. The Belgians, too, have come in for plenty of stick due to their performances so far in the tournament. They collected just four points in finishing second to Romania in Group E. Disenchantment with their performances went up a notch after the 0-0 draw against Ukraine in their last game. Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne was leading the players towards the fans gathered behind one of the goals after the match, only to turn away when hearing the loud jeers coming from that end. “I can understand they are frustrated with the performance but it’s not like we played three bad games, and we are qualified. So yeah, it’s a bit frustrating for us," said Belgium right-back Timothy Castagne. France and Belgium met in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 Nations League, with the French winning both games. In Monday's other last-16 match, Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal take on Slovenia, who reached the knockout phase of a major tournament for the first time after finishing as one of the best third-placed teams, in Frankfurt. Slovenia drew all three of their games against Denmark, Serbia and England in Group C. Portugal won their first two games comfortably against the Czech Republic and Turkey before <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2024/06/26/georgia-stun-cristiano-ronaldo-and-portugal-as-euro-2024-round-of-16-line-up-is-confirmed/" target="_blank">falling to a shock 2-0 defeat to Georgia </a>in their final Group F game.
