Antoine Griezmann says matching Michel Platini's goal record for France is 'great source of pride'

Antoine Griezmann admitted he was hugely proud to match Michel Platini’s goalscoring record for France after netting twice in their 2-0 victory over Finland. 

The striker, who sealed a shock move from Barcelona to Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day, is now France’s joint-third top scorer of all-time with 41 goals.

His two strikes against Finland put him level with France legend Platini and he is now just 10 behind all-time leading scorer Thierry Henry. 

‘It’s a great source of pride,’ he told TF1 of matching Platini’s record.

‘Since I’ve been here, since 2014, I always try to bring the best, whether it’s goals, with my defensive or offensive work.’

Asked if Tuesday’s match was his finest performance for Les Bleus, the striker said: ‘There have been others. But I am very happy with my performance and that of the team.’

It was an important win for France, who have come under criticism since their last 16 exit at Euro 2020.

The World Cup holders disappointed in the summer and were then held to 1-1 draws by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine, with L’Equipe reporting that players fear manager Didier Deschamps was starting to lose control.

But Greizmann insisted their performance against Finland showed the strong mindset of the group.

‘We wanted this victory, to show that we were solid and that we didn’t lose everything.

‘There was a good state of mind. We gave everything we had on the field and we tried to hurt them up front.

‘What changed? Maybe we found a system that suits us better. We’ll see, the coach will decide. But this time we were strong. We had drawn five times, and it was starting to take a long time. Here, we won in style.’