A friendly exhibition game between France and Ukraine on June 7th, 2020 was one of the most important games in the international career of Olivier Giroud. Giroud would take the honor to captain his national team on his 100th cap and lead his team to a 7-1 victory. In addition, he would score two goals in that game, thus allowing him to pass Michel Platini to become France’s second-highest goal-scorer.
Olivier Giroud is now France’s second top scorer in their history.
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 7, 2020
Just nine behind Thierry Henry 😤 pic.twitter.com/L8MjsC1VL6
Giroud made his debut for Les Bleus in 2011. Giroud was playing for Ligue 1 club Montpellier at the time and he made his official international debut in an exhibition match against the United States. Not long after, Giroud would move to Arsenal and would continue to appear for the national team, scoring his first international goal against Germany in an exhibition game on February 29, 2012. In Giroud’s case, things only got better for him.
Just How Important Is Giroud To Les Bleus?
Giroud is without a doubt one of the greatest names in the national team’s history. He’s a player that started at the bottom at both domestic and international duty. It wasn’t easy for him to get to where he is today. His journey to success simply tells the story of his career.
Giroud has represented Les Bleus in two Euros and two World Cups. He was on the squad that hoisted the World Cup title two years ago in Russia. Although he would not find the back of the net or even register a shot-on-goal, he still played a major role in helping Les Bleus win their second World Cup title.
Honestly, Giroud didn’t need to score any goals in Russia. His leadership and expertise were needed to bulk up France’s offensive attack. Giroud’s role as a leader was guiding the talented and dangerous French attack. To be more specific, his job was to do what he’s known for doing; create some space, help create some offensive penetration, and help create scoring chances. His leadership and expertise were a huge help to Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.
Based on his accomplishments, he’s truly done his country proud. That’s how important he is to the national team.
All time France top goalscorers:
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) October 7, 2020
🇫🇷 Thierry Henry – 51
🇫🇷 Olivier Giroud – 42
🇫🇷 Michel Platini – 41
🇫🇷 David Trezeguet – 34
🇫🇷 Antoine Griezmann – 31
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
pic.twitter.com/OEFxhUoo7n
Does Giroud Have More To Offer To His National Team?
The former Arsenal and current Chelsea player recently turned 34. He still sees some action on the pitch, but he’s only appeared in one game in Premier League play as a late substitute this season. For the moment, his future with Chelsea isn’t very certain, but it doesn’t look like he’s leaving the club anytime soon.
As far as his international career goes, it doesn’t look like it’s coming to an end soon. Manager Didier Deschamps still sees him as an important asset for the squad. Giroud is still scoring goals and his leadership and skills are still useful for Les Bleus. In other words, the national team still needs him.
At this point, it’s safe to say that despite his age, the striker/forward is still capable of playing well. In addition, he’s still in good enough shape to start games. Long story short, he’s still got it.
At the moment, Giroud has a fairly good chance of breaking Thierry Henry‘s record for being France’s all-time leading scorer. Giroud needs ten goals to do it. Giroud is more than likely to be on the French squad that will compete at next summer’s Euro which indicates that he may have more to offer Les Bleus.
In Giroud’s case, he’s looking to help France win at least one more major title. It’s all about fully solidifying himself as a national hero of the French Republic.
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