It was simple to see how the absence of star France striker Karim Benzema, who suffered a thigh injury just days before the 2022 World Cup, would harm the chances of an already injury-riddled France team.
After all, few teams could survive the loss of one of the top three strikers in the world as well as the current Ballon d'Or winner. However, this France team is among the strongest international teams in recent memory. The player who was set to surpass Benzema as the all-time leading scorer in the nation was ready to replace him. Furthermore, without Benzema on the field, France may be a stronger team.
Olivier Giroud, who is now 36, won't appear on anyone's list of the top strikers in the world unless that list is very long. He was at Chelsea and Arsenal for the majority of the 2010s before moving on to AC Milan, where he has five goals in 13 games. He has never had a season with more than 16 goals since he transferred from Montpellier to Arsenal in 2012. Additionally, he hadn't started more than 11 games in a season since 2015–16 up until his move to AC Milan ahead of the 2021–22 campaign.
Giroud in his final years in the Premier League became a bit of a relic as quick strikers who could play anywhere up front took over modern soccer. He has never been mistaken for one of the world's fastest players. Instead, he excels at stopping play in the final third and poses a constant threat when crosses enter the penalty area.
Even though Giroud's importance to the national team was more a result of necessity than anything else, those qualities have made him crucial to France's recent success.
Benzema was scheduled to play in his first World Cup since 2014 in 2022. After being banned for six years for attempting to blackmail his former French teammate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape, he was allowed to rejoin the national team in 2021, just in time for the postponed Euros. A year ago, Benzema was found guilty of the charge and given a one-year sentence with a suspended sentence.
Giroud served as the team's primary striker even though he wasn't playing a lot of club football because Benzema was no longer a consideration for the national team following the team's 2014 World Cup quarterfinal defeat. Between 2014 and 21, Giroud participated in 91 games for France, scoring 49 goals along the way to establish himself as one of the greatest French players in history.
The emergence of Kylian Mbappé coincided with his presence at center forward and has been aided by it. Giroud was the player Mbappé partnered with on the international stage as he developed into one of the best young forwards in the game. On the field, the two players have bonded, as evidenced by their joy when one of them scores a goal.
Earlier in the World Cup, France assistant coach Guy Stephan said, "There's a very good complicity between them." "This complicity may be strong, extremely strong, or weak. It is currently very present. The situation with Olivier Giroud is that Kylian also mentioned that he prefers to have a pivot player in front to express himself. The two players get along very well.
Giroud started each of France's seven games in the World Cup final without Benzema. He was a crucial part of that championship run even though, perhaps ironically given his track record as a goal scorer, he managed just one assist and no goals during that World Cup.
While the absence of goals and assists from four years ago didn't tell the full story of Giroud's contributions, they did give some French supporters cause for concern after Benzema's injury. The current Ballon d'Or winner had four goals in four games at Euro 2020, but he was the third projected starter for the team who was injured before the World Cup. Even though France was eliminated in the Round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup, he scored the goals Giroud failed to score.
Giroud only went scoreless for 31 minutes at the 2022 World Cup after going scoreless for 582 minutes more than four years prior and in both of his Euro 2020 appearances. He scored France's second goal of the contest against Australia while making his tournament debut. He later added a second goal with his head in the second half to tie Thierry Henry for the most goals scored by a men's national team.
He still possesses a solid character. In response to a question about the differences between Giroud in 2018 and 2022, Stephan stated, "I find that he moves a lot on the pitch, very mobile. "And I think he's a little bit cleverer,"
Giroud beat Harry Maguire to a corner kick and headed it past Jordan Pickford late in the second half to give England the victory in the quarterfinal. Giroud first broke Henry's record against Poland late in the first half of the Round of 16 matches.
While Giroud was scoreless and replaced during France's semifinal victory over Morocco on Wednesday, his World Cup performance has made it simpler for France and coach Didier Deschamps to steer clear of the subject of Benzema's potential return for Sunday's match. Benzema has been working out with Real Madrid and might be ready for the championship game.
After France's victory over Morocco, Benzema was questioned about his availability for Sunday's match. Deschamps responded simply, "I don't want to answer that question. The next query. My apologies.
It might have been interesting to consider Benzema starting the game if Giroud had failed to score once more during this World Cup. But considering anything more than a late-game cameo at this time seems absurd.
It won't seem absurd at all to believe that France is better with Giroud up front if they win back-to-back World Cups, becoming the first team to do so since Brazil in 1962.
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