Giroud equals Henry mark as World Cup holders France sink Australia, With a brace as hosts France rallied to defeat Australia 4-1 on Tuesday, Olivier Giroud surpassed Thierry Henry as France’s all-time greatest scorer and began their World Cup defense on a positive note. Nine minutes into the game, Australia unexpectedly seized the lead at Al Janoub Stadium thanks to a goal by Craig Goodwin. In the move that resulted in that goal, France’s left-back Lucas Hernandez was hurt. France’s preparation for the tournament had been hampered by injuries.
Giroud equals Henry mark as World Cup holders France sink Australia
However, they came back to tie the score through Adrien Rabiot before Giroud scored his 50th goal for his country with a simple finish in the 32nd minute. In the second half, Kylian Mbappe scored, and Giroud completed the victory to tie Henry’s record of 51 goals for France. Following earlier 0-0 draws in Doha between rivals Denmark and Tunisia, the victory puts them atop Group D.
At the age of 36, veteran AC Milan striker Giroud, who has 115 caps, is the oldest player to score for France at a World Cup. Yet he almost certainly would not have been playing here had Karim Benzema been fit. Instead, the withdrawal of the Ballon d’Or winner with a thigh injury on the eve of the tournament has played into the hands of Giroud, who was a key player for coach Didier Deschamps in France’s triumphant 2018 World Cup campaign but didn’t score in Russia.
It is not just Benzema who is missing for Les Bleus, with Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante — their starting midfield duo four years ago — also out of the tournament. Centre-back Raphael Varane was not risked having not played since suffering a leg injury playing for Manchester United a month ago. That meant Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate — with nine caps between them — played together in central defense while Rabiot joined Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield. – Hernandez injury blow –
Australia stunned the world champions by scoring an early opener. Mathew Leckie controlled the ball on the right and escaped Lucas Hernandez before delivering a low ball across the face of goal for Goodwin to finish into the roof of the net. Hernandez hurt his right knee trying to stop Leckie, although there did not appear to be any contact between the players. The Bayern Munich defender was helped off, with his brother Theo coming on.
The younger Hernandez did not have the best introduction, giving the ball away and allowing Mitch Duke to hit a shot from range that flew just wide. Yet he played a part in the 27th-minute equalizer — Antoine Griezmann’s right-wing corner was cleared but the ball came to Hernandez on the left and his cross was headed in by Rabiot. Five minutes later Rabiot was involved again as France went ahead, hounding Nathaniel Atkinson out of possession on the French left and playing a one-two with Mbappe before teeing up Giroud.
While France dominated the game after halftime, Australia’s Jackson Irvine header that struck the post in first-half stoppage time served as a warning that Australia could still pose a threat. Just before Mbappe headed in Ousmane Dembele’s cross off the post to make it 3-1 midway into the second half, Griezmann had an effort blocked off the line. Mbappe then took on a new role, crossing for Giroud to head in a historic goal as France scored their fourth in the 71st minute. This was a successful evening for France in spite of all the injuries and after witnessing what happened to Argentina earlier.
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