Olivier Giroud is a French professional footballer who played for the France national football team as a forward from 2011 to 2024. In that period, he scored 57 goals in 137 international appearances, making him the country's all-time top scorer.[1] He surpassed Thierry Henry's record of 51 goals with a goal against Poland in the round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 4 December 2022.[2] Giroud made his debut for France in a 1–0 home win over the United States on 11 November 2011,[3] and scored his first international goal on 29 February 2012 in his third appearance, a 2–1 win over Germany.[4]
Giroud's only international hat-trick came in a friendly against Paraguay on 2 June 2017,[5] and he has netted twice in a match on ten occasions.[1] Out of all his opponents, he scored the most against Australia and Iceland, netting four goals against each team.[1] Giroud scored five goals in the FIFA World Cup, three in the UEFA European Championship, five in the UEFA Nations League, six in FIFA World Cup qualification and seven in UEFA European Championship qualification.[1] The remainder of his goals, 29, came in friendlies.[1] His most productive calendar year in terms of international goals was 2017, when he scored eight goals in five matches for France.[6] He also scored eight goals in six matches during 2016.[6] With France, Giroud won the 2018 World Cup, also reaching the 2022 World Cup final and the Euro 2016 final during his international career.[7][8]
A prolific scorer, Giroud was described as a "target man" and as a "super sub", due to his playing style and penchant for scoring goals after coming off the bench.[9][10] He was often praised for his overall play and combination with teammates, often described as a "complete striker".[11] When discussing Giroud's scoring capacity, France manager Didier Deschamps explained in 2022, "He's a striker who is so useful for the team even if he doesn't score himself, and there have been periods when he hasn't found the net. But, even then, he helps others to score."[7]
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