France striker Olivier Giroud ended his barren spell in front of goal by scoring against Holland, which took him past Zinedine Zidane in the record books.
Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Giroud ensured that Didier Deschamp’s men won their first game back in their homeland as world champions, as they secured a 2-1 win against the Netherlands on Sunday.
The Stade De France was in all full voice as France continued their World Cup celebrations with yet another victory, which led to joyous scenes after the final whistle.
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PSG sensation Mbappe opened the scoring from close range early in the first half, but Ryan Babel threatened to spoil the party with an equaliser in the second period. The stage was set for the Chelsea hit-man to steal the headlines and he obliged with a fantastic winning goal in the 74th minute, smashing home an unstoppable volley from a Benjamin Mendy cross.
Giroud goal v Netherlands ?? pic.twitter.com/xhU1jFqPQh
— CFC (@CFCGallery) September 9, 2018
Not only did the goal mark an end to Giroud’s dismal run at international level, having not scored a single goal during France’s run to glory in Russia this summer, but he also overtook Zidane in the all-time scoring charts for his country – as Talk Sport reports.
The 31-year-old now has 32 goals under his belt for Les Bleus, which puts him fourth in the all-time list for the two-time World Cup winners.
Although he might not have had as big an impact in major tournaments as Zidane, who scored two goals in the World Cup final back in 1998 and another in the 2006 final, Giroud has still very much played his part in the recent success of the team under Deschamp’s leadership.
Chelsea supporters will now hope that the Frenchman can transfer that form back to club level, as he fights for a regular spot in the starting XI with misfiring forward Alvaro Morata.