Olivier Giroud left a bad streak behind his debut in Qatar 2022. The current AC Milan striker from Italy scored twice in a 4-1 win France in view of Australia for the first round of group D, the first in the top football tournament. The curious thing about this situation is that Giroud was the starting striker of the French team in Russia 2018, when he was world champion, but without celebrations.
On Russian soil, despite his team’s great performance, Giroud was the benchmark in attack and failed to score a single goal. Statistics show that he spent 546 minutes on the field and almost did not kick on goal, but it was important elsewhere. The 36-year-old player has been highlighted for his dirty work and physical exhaustion to create space for his teammates.
“Maybe he doesn’t have an extravagant style like other forwards, but he’s very generous. The team needs him even if he doesn’t score. He gives us balance. He’s useful in attack, but also in defense because of his passing game,” is state the support he received from Didier Deschamps at that time.
After downloading Karim Benzema due to injury, Giroud was presented with a new opportunity to start. His story with his goal in Qatar began differently. In the 32nd minute of the first phase, he pushed a ball into the center of the box after an assist from Adrian Rabiot -author of the equalizing goal-, brought his team forward and got rid of the insult of not being able to convert.
26 minutes into the plugin, it once again had an influence on the result. With a header after a cross kylian mbappe He made it 4-1 and settled a game that had started with some doubts for the defending champion.
In addition, the former Chelsea matched Thierry Henry as the all-time top scorer for the French team. Henry managed to score 51 goals in 123 games, while Giroud has 51 goals in 115 appearances. His debut on Qatari soil could not have been better, as he didn’t miss Benzema and showed that he has his eyes on the goal.
Source: Clarin
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