Didier Deschamps paid tribute to Olivier Giroud after the ahead broke France’s males’s goalscoring document of their 3-1 win in opposition to Poland. Giroud’s 52nd strike for Les Bleus eclipsed a milestone set via Thierry Henry and Deschamps mentioned it used to be simply praise for overcoming grievance at quite a lot of issues in his occupation, together with when he drew a clean all through their triumph at Russia 2018.
Giroud has scored 3 times at this match and France, the holders, glance in menacing form forward of the closing 8. “Four years ago he didn’t score but he was still an important player,” Deschamps mentioned. “He has had difficult periods in his career. He has often been criticized but people are now seeing his quality. He stayed strong mentally and has broken a very difficult record held by Henry.”
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Sitting next to him was Kylian Mbappé, who brought his international tally to 33 with two goals in the last-16 victory and, at 23, is 12 years Giroud’s junior. “Another boy here might break it one day,” Deschamps joked. “To score so many goals at international level is a great achievement. [Giroud] was already there when I arrived.
Mbappé leads the golden boot charts at Qatar 2022 with five goals but scotched any suggestion that pursuing the prize might distract him. “The only objective for me is to win the World Cup,” he said. “That’s my only dream. I didn’t come to win the golden boot. If I do win it I’ll be happy but that’s not what I’m here for.”
Although Mbappé’s performance, particularly after half-time, appeared to be masterful it earned mixed reviews from his manager. “He speaks on the pitch,” Deschamps said. “He didn’t have his best match tonight. He knows that himself but he can change a match in just a moment. He always plays with joy and we all want to share those smiles. France needed a great Kylian Mbappé tonight and they got one.”
Deschamps praised the understanding Mbappé and Giroud have developed since 2018, when the former operated in a more orthodox right-sided role. “They are now closer together and technically, over the years, have developed an understanding,” he mentioned. “But I don’t mind if it doesn’t work and we get the same result as in 2018.”
The Milan player Giroud said his record was a “adolescence dream” and praised the “harmony and harmony” he believes has been essential to France’s growth. They will play England or Senegal within the closing 8 after profitable 3 in their 4 suits, scoring 9 targets.
