Giroud Believes He Deserves Top Striker Spot in France World Cup Squad
Arsenal and French striker, Olivier Giroud has defended his place in France’s World cup squad, saying he believes he deserves to start for France in their opening match against Honduras on Sunday after impressing in their three warm-up matches.
The 27-year-old who plays the top striker position at his club, has scored 8 goals in 30 appearances for his country, and was missing in the last World Cup finals as he was playing in the French second division with Tours when it took place and he is now keen to make up for lost time in playing as much as possible in Brazil.
An opportunity opened up for Giroud in the front three after star winger Franck Ribery was ruled out of the finals with a back injury last Friday and French coach, Didier Deschamps moved Karim Benzema out to the left and gave Giroud the lone striker role for the 8-0 thrashing of Jamaica last Sunday.
However, it was Benzema and Antoine Griezmann – who came on as a substitute – who caught the eye both scoring doubles while Giroud got one.
Giroud is in no doubt about who should start up front. When asked if he felt he merited a start in France’s Group E game in Porto Alegre, he replied: “Yes, of course, I am happy with how I played in the warm-up games. I feel on form and very positive. I hope to get a lot of playing time.”
Giroud also rejected claims he was putting pressure on the coaching staff saying he was just “ambitious” and wanted his chance to prove he was the man for the job.
He also said that there was no rigid system to how he and Benzema were told to play. “The coach expects a lot of us. He wants us to be mobile, to combine, that our movement is intelligent and that we occupy all the free space.”
