#2 Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann had a sedate start to Euro 2016 and was not particularly impressive in their opening group stage encounters. He was a shadow of his clinical self in their opening match against Romania and was guilty of fluffing his lines on several occasions. It seemed that France with their patient passing and probing were a tactical misfit for Griezmann who in recent times, has shone in Atletico Madrid’s explosive counter-attacking system.
However, cometh the hour, cometh the man, as Griezmann proved against the Republic of Ireland in the round of 16 clash. Ireland had taken the lead through Robbie Brady and France were under intense pressure. Looking devoid of ideas on how to break down a resolute Irish defence, Griezmann stepped up to the plate and scored twice in the space of 5 minutes to hand Les Blues the impetus and advantage. France did not let that slip and made it through to the quarters, where they will once again be heavily reliant on the Atletico starlet to provide the fireworks up front.
