Giroud hungry for goals and second title with France

At 36, Olivier Giroud is in the twilight of his career yet the veteran striker has shown no signs of slowing down. The France star will be playing in his third World Cup for the defending champions at Qatar 2022 and could be the key man for Les Bleus, who have been blighted by injuries in the run up to the tournament.
For Giroud, this year’s World Cup will certainly be his last dance at a major tournament. But with a key milestone in sight and his poor record at previous World Cups, Giroud is motivated to perform well.
Giroud was not even in coach Didier Deschamps’ scheme of things until March this year, when he earned a recall after a nine-month hiatus following France’s Euro 2020 early exit.
Since then, the striker has hit nine goals this season for Serie A champions AC Milan and also became France’s oldest international goalscorer in September when he netted for the 49th time for his country in a UEFA Nations League game against Austria.
The former Arsenal and Chelsea forward, who has 114 caps, is now just two goals away from equalling great Thierry Henry’s record haul of 51 for France. Speaking at a press conference at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium ahead of France’s first training session yesterday, Giroud admitted that the record was in his mind but wanted to focus on helping France to clinch a second successive world title. “For me it is kind of a blessing to have the opportunity to play for my country at a third World Cup,” said Giroud.
“I want to enjoy every single moment. Of course I have this target in my head to beat ‘Titi’ (Henry) but the main one is as a team, to go as far as we can in the competition and if I get the chance to go closer to him (Henry). To win one World Cup is obviously such a big childhood dream. To get a second one would be amazing. As a competitor I have no limits. I am still hungry. I want to play as far as my body allows me with my advanced age. I am closer to the end of my career than to the beginning. The determination and mental motivation is everything in sport so that’s why I am never satisfied. I want to do more and more,” he added.
France open their campaign against Australia at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah next Tuesday, November 22. While Giroud was expected to feature mainly from the bench, he could well make it to the starting XI as Real Madrid star Karim Benzema has not recovered fully from a muscular injury.
Yesterday, both Benzema and defender Raphael Varane – who is nursing a thigh injury – did not take part in the training session. “The coach knows what my role will be, as soon as I’m needed, I’ll be there,” Giroud said.
The striker knows he needs to do much more than what he has done in previous World Cups – with his sole strike at the sport’s biggest stage coming in Brazil in 2014. “Yes, I scored one in 2014 (World Cup) and a few at the 2016 Euros. It’s important for the team to score. I’ll give it my 200% for the team. For me it’s kind of a blessing to have the opportunity to play for my country in a third World Cup,” he said.
Giroud was asked if he was in the form of his life after his recent acrobatic finishes drew comparisons with Zlatan Ibrahimovic at his peak. The Frenchman, who won the FIFA Puskas Award for goal of the year in 2017 for his spectacular scorpion-kick goal for Arsenal against Crystal Palace, said he was in a ‘good spell’ and liked scoring ‘acrobatic goals’
“I don’t know if I am in my best form and if you look at some of the goals I have scored in the past I have already got some that have been a bit like Zlatan. I do like scoring acrobatic goals. But it is true that I am in a good spell. I feel good physically, I am happy with my game and at my club. At the age of 36 it is a gift to be able to be so important and to feel so good, and I hope to keep this going,” he said.
The France squad has been hit hard by injuries, with important midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante ruled out of the tournament in Qatar a month ahead. On Wednesday, RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku too had to pull out after suffering a knee injury with Eintracht Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani replacing him.
Giroud said injuries were part of football and hoped the young players would rise to the occasion if given a chance. “There is always some exposure to injuries but you must not think about that and just train normally. I’m sure there are other young players who will emerge and perform their roles well. We don’t announce ourselves as favourites but I have a lot of faith in this squad,” he said.
Giroud said France, who also take on Denmark and Tunisia in Group D, will face a tough opening match against Australia on Tuesday. “We haven’t really studied them closely yet but we know they’ve quality players, with many of them playing in Europe. It will be a tough match,” he noted.