French striker Olivier Giroud scored his 53rd goal for France in the 79th minute of the final quarter-final clash over England on Saturday. While the goal helped France take a 2-1 lead over England, it also catapulted Giroud as France’s top goalscorer. He eclipsed Thierry Henry, who has 51 goals for Les Bleus.
Giroud got a start against Australia as France’s first-choice striker after 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema was ruled out of the World Cup due to injury. He will most likely play as France’s number 9 in the entire tournament, along with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembélé down the flanks.
Who is Olivier Giroud?
Olivier Giroud was born on September 30, 1986, in Chambéry, France. His full name is Olivier Jonathan Giroud. He started his footballing career at his hometown club Grenoble before signing with Tours in 2008. He was 21 at the time.
He finished the season as the league’s leading scorer, which earned him the title of Ligue 2 Player of the Year in 2010. He moved to Montpellier next for a record 2 million Euros and won the team’s first Ligue 1 championship while finishing the season as the top scorer in the league.
He joined Arsenal in 2012, where he helped the team overcome a nine-year trophy drought by winning three FA Cups. He currently ranks as the club’s eighteenth-highest goalscorer of all time.
Also read: FIFA World Cup 2022: Argentina see ray of hope at bottom of Group C as Poland, Mexico share points
Giroud moved to Chelsea next in 2018 for a fee of 20.7 million Euros. He won the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Europa League with the Blues while finishing as the highest goalscorer in the Europa League.
After that, Giroud joined AC Milan, where he helped them break their 11-year league title drought by winning the Serie A in the 2021–2022 season.
