Back with the Blues in the absence of injured Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud took full advantage of the opportunity that Didier Deschamps offered him this Thursday night, against Austria (2-0). Aligned alongside Kylian Mbappé in the 3-4-1-2 of the French team, the AC Milan striker, in fact, has weighed in this match and more specifically in the Austrian defense. Results ? A goal, 49 with the tricolor jersey, a decisive pass and another high-flying performance at the forefront of the French attack. No matter how many years pass, the one who became, at 35 years and 357 days, the oldest scorer in the history of the Blues, surpassing Roger Marche, scorer at 35 years and 287 days in December 1959, continues to shine. against Spain. despite a context more than difficult to handle.
Olivier Giroud returns to two lengths from Thierry Henry!
Relegated to the hierarchy for several months, the Chambéry native is not giving up and still wants to believe in his lucky stars. Seizing the slightest opportunity to get in his favor, Giroud, once out of habit, lit up the Stade de France and its 70,000 spectators on Thursday night. Head scorer -over an Antoine Griezmann caviar- the Milanese (49 in 113 games since 2011), which received a score of 7.5 from our editorial team, thus approaching the 51 goals of His Majesty Thierry Henry. A new top-level performance for which he continues to terrorize Serie A in the Rossoneri jersey (5 goals and 1 assist in 9 games in all competitions since the start of the season). Valuable in the custody of the ball, omnipresent in the passing circuits, imperial in the air, like his goal, Giroud also shone with his deflection game, bringing a certain fluidity to the attacking front.
A decisive passer in Kylian Mbappé’s first goal, author of a sparkling flurry, the former Chelsea striker (again) maintained his range, showing – in the process – his manager that he could trust him. Enough to hope to see Qatar? “I didn’t say I was going to deprive myself of that. you draw conclusions”indicated, in that sense, Didier Deschamps, questioned by the chain The team about a possible presence of the AC Milan striker in the World Cup that will be played from November 20 to December 18. Relaunched on the subject, at a press conference, the former coach of Olympique de Marseille did not stop praising the attitude and regularity of his protégé. Without specifying that his place in the World Cup was acquired. far from there
Qatar, dream or reality?
“He scored, good for him. He is in an excellent mood, he participated in many animations and offensive actions. As almost always. He has found himself in very very very (he insists) complicated situations in recent years, with little or no playing time, and every time he was in the France team he did it successfully. He is very good for the France team. I’m very happy for Olivier, he deserves it. If I call him and put him on, it’s to be good and score goals. May he continue to perform well. (…) Did I tell you that he will be there or that he won’t be there? Neither one nor the other. We will have to wait until November. He goes out of his way to make sure he’s there, but since there’s a lot of competition at every position.Didier Deschamps admitted.
As a reminder, the 53-year-old coach recalled, recently in Telefootthat Olivier Giroud no longer had the same status with the Blues. “I have always considered that a player who has a status should maintain the same status in the France team. Humanly, it’s very difficult when you don’t keep it.”. A way of not giving too many false hopes to number 9 of the evening? One thing is certain, due to his repercussion, his particular profile and his regularity, Giroud is emerging more than ever as a serious candidate for the next World Cup. Asked about the latter’s performance, Kylian Mbappé also seems to validate the Rossoneri’s contribution. “We get along well, it was a great meeting, even with Antoine (Griezmann), because today he played higher. We managed to combine, speak the same football, it was satisfying. Also, he was able to score and get closer to Titi’s record, I think it’s a good night for him. An advantage for us? Of course ! When you’re the second top scorer for the France team, if you’re not a plus, you never will be! He did us a favor again today.. Now it remains to be seen if the Blues’ last outing, this Sunday against DenmarkIt will be enough for Olivier Giroud to definitively convince his coach not to boycott him… for Qatar.
35a & 357j – Thanks to his goal against Austria, Olivier Giroud becomes this afternoon, at 35 years and 357 days, the oldest scorer in the history of the French national team, surpassing Roger Marche (35 years and 287 days in December of 1959 against Spain). Briscard. #FRAAUT pic.twitter.com/0u5ORYB3I8
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) September 22, 2022