France will travel to Dublin next week for a EURO 2024 qualifier without Karim Benzema or Paul Pogba, while Raphael Varane and captain Huglo Lloris both retired after the 2022 World Cup. In their absence, the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann will be the names striking the most fear into the hearts of Irish football fans.
Mbappé's brilliance goes without saying, having starred in the World Cup and established himself as the best player in world football in recent years.
Griezmann has endured mixed fortunes at club level, but remains one of the finest international players in the world, with consistently stellar performances for France - something Ireland will remember all too well from EURO 2016.
26 June 2016; Antoine Griezmann of France scores his side's second goal of the game in the UEFA Euro 2016 Round of 16 match between France and Republic of Ireland at Stade des Lumieres in Lyon, France. Photo by Sportsfile
The two are set to be pivotal to France's upcoming EURO 2024 qualifiers - but reports in the country suggest all is not well between Griezmann and manager Didier Deschamps.
Various reports have emerged in recent days suggesting that Griezmann is unhappy with his manager's decision to hand the captaincy to teammate Kylian Mbappé in the absence of Hugo Lloris, while other reports suggest Deschamps' squad selection has left him unhappy in recent months.
The reports will certainly intrigue Irish football fans, ahead of a massive game in Dublin next Monday.
Antoine Griezmann reportedly falls out with France manager
With long-time captain Hugo Lloris retiring from international football in the aftermath of France's World Cup final defeat in December, a big decision was ahead of manager Didier Deschamps as to who would take over the armband.
Prime candidate Raphael Varane also concurrently announced his retirement from the French team, leaving the field wide open.
Antoine Griezmann, whose career with the national team has lasted nine years at this stage, and who is trumped only by Olivier Giroud in the current squad for French caps, seems to have expected that he would be chosen to take over as captain.
28 May 2018; Kylian Mbappe of France in action against Alan Browne of Republic of Ireland during the International Friendly match between France and Republic of Ireland at Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Ultimately, Deschamps has made the choice to promote Kylian Mbappé to the captaincy, off the back of a remarkable outing at the World Cup in Qatar. The 24-year-old PSG forward will lead the team out against the Netherlands on Friday night - but all does not appear well after Deschamps' call.
Griezmann is reportedly deeply unhappy with the decision - to the point of potentially walking away from the camp.
Reports in French publication Le Figaro on Tuesday morning suggested that Griezmann was "disappointed and touched" by the decision of Deschamps to hand the captaincy to PSG man Mbappé, and suggested that he would even reconsider his future with the national team.
Infamous French sports paper L'Équipe reported that the problems run deeper than the captaincy decision. Their report suggests that Griezmann is disconnected from the rest of the camp, having been affected by the retirements of stalwarts Lloris and Steve Mandanda, as well as the persistent absence of Paul Pogba in recent months.
Conflicting reports from RMC Sport suggest that Griezmann will not be moved by the captaincy snub so far as to reconsider his future with the team - but that he is nonetheless "marked" by the decision from Deschamps.
The French are no strangers to disharmony within the camp, as we all know.
It may not necessarily spell the end for Griezmann, but this reported unrest will certainly have piqued the interest of Irish fans hoping for a famous result in next Monday's EURO 2024 qualifier.
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