Olivier Giroud became the only top scorer in the history of the Blues by scoring his 52nd goal in the tricolor jersey this Sunday, December 4 during the round of 16 France-Poland (3-1). He overtakes Thierry Henry, whose record has held since 2009.
From our special envoy to Qatar,
Author of a double against Australia (4-1), Olivier Giroud equaled Thierry Henry. With his goal against the Poles, he is now in pole position after 117 selections with his 52nd goal at the Al-Thumama stadium in Doha. Ironically, there was a lot of debate about his place in Qatar, when some saw him as too old to still be in the game.
Finally invited to the table of the Blues
And the uncertainty vis-à-vis Karim Benzema had prompted Didier Deschamps to invite him to the table of the Blues. At 36, the former Montpellier player still shines for his third global meeting after Brazil (2014) and Russia (2018). The striker trained in Grenoble had rocked the house in Serie A with AC Milan before flying to Qatar. He had scored 9 goals in 18 matches in all competitions for the first part of the season. In the Champions League, against RB Salzburg, he scored two goals and provided two assists (4-0) to propel the Rossoneri to the round of 16 for the first time since 2013-2014.
” We really wanted to succeed in this match against Poland and we did. I was really frustrated not to materialize at the start of the meeting. I really wanted to conclude, it’s only happiness “, commented Olivier Giroud at the end of the meeting.
” Olivier Giroud has always been an important player »
” The France team will always need a great Mbappé “, says coach Didier Deschamps. And it signals the relationship between the Paris Saint-Germain player and Olivier Giroud. ” Olivier (Giroud) was not as effective in Russia. But he was always an important player. He had difficult times and today he is rewarded. This is not a trivial record. Congratulations to him, and to his partners who allowed him to score all these goals. »
The former Montpellier player, launched in Blue at over 25 by Laurent Blanc in 2011, owes almost everything to Didier Deschamps. The coach had made him his reference center forward from 2016 to 2021, until the return of Karim Benzema. If the world champion had remained silent in Russia during the last World Cup, four years later, here he is blazing despite his 36 years. ” I am a little young “, he had advanced before the start of the tournament.