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Olivier Giroud is a French professional footballer who has been representing the France national football team as a forward since his debut in 2011. Since then, Giroud has scored 57 goals in 134 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 has scored the most against Australia and Iceland, netting four goals against each team.[1] Giroud has 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, have come in friendlies.[1] His most productive calendar year in terms of international goals was 2017, when he scored eight goals in five games for France.[6] He also scored eight goals in six games during 2016.[6] With France, Giroud won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and also reached the 2022 FIFA World Cup final and UEFA Euro 2016 final during his international career.[7][8]
A prolific scorer, Giroud has been 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 is 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]
- ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "France 1–0 USA". The Guardian. Associated Press. 13 November 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ "France stun Germany 2–1 in friendly". France 24. Reuters. 1 March 2012. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ "Olivier Giroud scores hat trick as France crush Paraguay 5–0". The Indian Express. Indian Express Group. Associated Press. 3 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ a b Wright, Chris (5 December 2022). "Olivier Giroud passes Thierry Henry as France's all-time top scorer. Here's how their goal records for Les Bleus compare". ESPN. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ a b Fifield, Dominic (24 November 2022). "Is Olivier Giroud really still under appreciated?". The Athletic. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ Hytner, David (19 December 2022). "Argentina beat France on penalties to win World Cup after stunning final". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Stuart James (8 July 2018). "No goals? No problem. Olivier Giroud's mission to supply France with glory". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ Smith, Peter (11 August 2017). "Is Arsenal's Olivier Giroud the Premier League's best super sub?". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
- ^ "Trezeguet: Giroud the most complete striker at World Cup". FIFA. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.