Olivier Giroud, who was considered a difficult striker for Kim Min-jae to deal with, is still ready to devote himself to the national team.
Appearing on a program of French radio station RTL on the 6th (Korean time), Giroud revealed that he still wants to play for the French national team and aims to participate in UEFA (European Football Federation) Euro 2024.
Giroud said he could be a ‘big brother’ to the new generation of the French national team, saying: “I’m aiming to compete in the Euros next year in Germany. I’m still here and can be called up by the coach.”
He believed he could come back strong, even though the defeat to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar remains the worst memory of his national team career.
Giroud debuted in November 2011 and has been with the national team for 12 years. He has participated in all major tournaments, including three World Cups and three Euros, winning the 2018 World Cup in Russia, runner-up at Euro 2016, and runner-up at the World Cup in Qatar.
In particular, Giroud started as a starter after Karim Benzema was unable to attend the World Cup in Qatar due to injury, and became the French national team’s top scorer with 53 goals, surpassing the previous French national team’s highest scorer, Thierry Henry’s record (51 goals).
Giroud is 192 cm tall and has strong physical abilities. Even at the age of 36, he is currently playing an active role as the main striker for AC Milan. This season, he has scored 7 goals and 4 assists in 23 Serie A matches, and has produced 11 goals and 6 assists in 32 official matches.
In particular, Giroud is the striker that Kim Min-jae, who is in the limelight as the best defender in Serie A, rated as the most difficult. 베팅룸 토토
In an interview before an A-match in September of last year, Kim Min-jae said, “I had a lot of strengths because I was a veteran who had good strength, good connection, and enough qualities as a striker.” Concentration and positioning have to be improved a lot.”
Meanwhile, France will enter the Euro 2024 qualifiers from the A match schedule in March. France will challenge to advance to the Euro 2024 finals, starting with the Netherlands (home) on the 25th and Ireland (away) on the 28th.