French striker Antoine Griezmann has expressed delight at being able to put up a spectacular show against Finland, which saw him join the legendary Michel Platini in the top-3 goalscoring list for France.
Griezmann declared that he feels proud to have matched Platini's record.
"It's a great source of pride", the 30-year-old told TF1 after equalling Platini's record in international football. "Since I've been here, since 2014, I always try to bring the best, whether it's goals, with my defensive or offensive work".
When a reporter asked him if his display against Finland was his best ever in a Les Bleus jersey, he replied: "There have been others. But I am very happy with my performance and that of the team".
Throughout the encounter, Griezmann was all over the Finnish defence, dominating the game with his trademark passes, breathtaking pace, and lethal attack, proving to be the ultimate difference between the two teams.
His twin strikes in the 25th and the 53rd minute not only secured France's 2-0 triumph, but also extended their lead in Group D. The reigning world champions now have 12 points at the top of the group followed by Ukraine in second place with just 5 points.
Only Thierry Henry and Oliver Giroud are ahead of Griezmann as they have scored 51 and 46 goals respectively for France.
The victory over Finland also ended a streak of poor results for France in 2021.
While Didier Deschamps' side bowed out of the Euro 2020 in the Round of 16 after Kylian Mbappe and his teammates failed to stop a confident Switzerland from beating them in a tense penalty shootout, the French national team disappointed last week too. They only managed a 1-1 draw against both Bosnia-Herzegovina and Ukraine in their World Cup qualifying games.