attacker since MLS\u2019s winter transfer window<\/a> and held his discovery rights. Heading into the international break, the Lions sit 13th in the Eastern Conference with one single win and four losses\u2014including two 5\u20130 defeats in their last three games.<\/p>\nOrlando, who fired their longtime head coach \u00d3scar Pareja after three losses to start the season, are still scrambling for a longterm solution, and Griezmann may be just that. <\/p>\n
The star striker\u2014with stints at Real Sociedad, FC Barcelona and Atl\u00e9ti\u2014scored 298 goals across 792 appearances in Spain\u2019s La Liga. He notched 44 goals and 38 assists with the French national team before retiring from international play in 2024. Griezmann\u2019s most famous performance came in France\u2019s 2018 World Cup final win, when he scored a penalty and provided an assist to earn Player of the Match and the Silver Boot. <\/p>\n
So where might Orlando use Griezmann\u2019s starpower? Here\u2019s how the club could line up with the addition of Griezmann.<\/p>\n
Partnership with Duncan McGuire![\"Lineup\"](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_0,h_0\/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/voltaxMediaLibrary\/mmsport\/si\/01kmebd76vg7s1z2a3bt.png\" "\\"Lineup\\"")
<\/p>\n
Antoine Griezmann\u2019s and Duncan McGuire\u2019s opposite skillsets might work perfectly together. | FotMob<\/p>\n
Griezmann is not just a striker, but also a playmaker. He is known for his creativity on the ball; his astute ability to read the game and create unique opportunities; and his tendency to sit in and play as a second striker. <\/p>\n
The Frenchman\u2019s skillset could pair extremely well with that of Duncan McGuire. The 6’1″ striker is a physically-imposing presence whose skillset is largely dependent on that factor and is derived from his NCAA background. The 2023 Creighton graduate relies on his movement off the ball and loves to run at defenses and find ways to get in behind.<\/p>\n
The contrastingly-small Griezmann\u2014who stands at 5’9″\u2014may be able to capitalize on McGuire\u2019s \u201cfull speed ahead\u201d mentality, while himself offering something completely different. Griezmann could play off of McGuire a bit, using his creative nous to find the large striker in behind.<\/p>\n
Lone Striker![\"lineup\"](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_0,h_0\/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/voltaxMediaLibrary\/mmsport\/si\/01kmebhd2mh289xjet4k.png\" "\\"lineup\\"")
<\/p>\n
Orlando City has played a few games this season with one striker. | FotMob<\/p>\n
There is also no doubt that Griezmann could handle the goalscoring himself, with some assistance underneath from Designated Player Mart\u00edn Ojeda. The Argentine midfielder is similarly known for his creativity and incisive passing, possessing a mind that probably thinks alike to Griezmann\u2019s. <\/p>\n
As the lone striker, Griezmann would be heavily reliant on wingers Iv\u00e1n Angulo and Marco Pa\u0161ali\u0107, both of whom have been, and will continue to be, integral to how the Lions play.<\/p>\n
Regardless of how the team shapes up, Griezmann up top will need to breathe new life into Orlando who have just four goals on the season thus far, averaging less than one per game.<\/p>\n
READ THE LATEST TRANSFER NEWS AND RUMORS FROM WORLD SOCCER<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Atl\u00e9tico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann is set to be the latest international superstar in MLS. The 35-year-old Frenchman…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-203712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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