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From Raymond Kopa to Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane to Thierry Henry, France has produced some of the all-time greats in football, but Olivier Giroud only needs one more goal for Les Pleus to beat all of his compatriots.
The attacking giant is 1.93m tall and 2018 Globalism The Cup winner equaled Henry’s record of 51 goals for France by scoring twice in his country’s 4-1 victory over Australia on Tuesday.
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He has long left behind the likes of Platini, David Trezeguet, Jean-Pierre Papin and Just Fontaine, the striker best known for scoring 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup.
The oldest international scorer for France at the age of 36, Giroud has reached his tally in 115 appearances for his country, eight times less than the number of matches played by Henry between 1997 and 2010.
“It’s a source of pride and honour,” Giroud said after his brace against Australia, bringing him level with Henry as France began their defense of the World Cup.
“It makes you think of all the hard work you’ve done to get here and also the great teams you’ve played for.”
Now ready to pass Henry’s mark, he added, “Watch out, Tete, I’m coming.”
Giroud’s performance against Australia raised hopes that France could cope well at the World Cup finals without Karim Benzema, the Ballon d’Or winner who withdrew with injury on the eve of the tournament.
After all, they did well without Benzema four years ago in Russia, even if Giroud failed to score a single goal during the World Cup in Russia.
But there is a growing sense that Didier Deschamps’ side might be better off this time around despite all the injuries in their squad, given the fruitful relationship Giroud has recently developed with Kylian Mbappe.
– late developer –
Playing alongside Mbappe in the French attack should make Milan forward Giroud realize how far he has come since his days as a lower league striker who never seemed determined to be at the top.
Mbappe was a World Cup winner at the age of nineteen. At the same age, Giroud – from the Alpine town of Chambery – had made a few appearances in Ligue 2 with Grenoble.
PSG star Mbappe is now hoping to win the biggest prize of them all for the second time while still only 23 years old.
Giroud was 23 when he really began to make a name for himself in the professional game by finishing as Ligue 2’s top scorer with 21 goals for Tours.
Things accelerated from there, and he joined Montpellier & A Championship as they won the Ligue 1 title against all odds in 2012, edging out a PSG team just captured by Qatar. sports investments.
A move to the Premier League followed, with Giroud spending nine years in England, first with Arsenal and then Chelsea, before moving to Serie A last year.
He won the Italian title at the first attempt with Milan and is now playing some of the best football of his career in an era when others are nearing retirement.
Giroud was first called up to the France squad by former coach Laurent Blanc in late 2011 and continued to play under Deschamps.
He is now participating in his third World Cup finals and his sixth major tournament.
However, there was a period late last year, and earlier this year, when Benzema returned to the fold, Giroud was regularly left out of France’s squads and his international career appeared to be over.
Now a lot is back in Deschamps’ plans, he’s scored five goals in his last five matches.
“Since my call-up, I’ve been determined to show that I’m at 200% when I’m playing for France,” he said.
“He’s loved at the moment. He’s loved at the moment,” Deschamps said this week of the player who, if he scored against Denmark on Saturday, wouldn’t be equaled in France’s blue shirt, not even Henry.
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