GIROUD PROVES HIS ENDURING WORTH

Olivier Giroud was originally not even in France's World Cup plans, but on Tuesday he made history for Les Bleus in their statement win over Australia.

Oft-maligned in a nation where strikers are expected to play with a little more elan, Giroud was drafted into the team to play his 115th international after Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema was ruled out of the World Cup by injury last weekend.

Giroud produced a typically unfussy but effective display in the defending champion's 4-1 come-from-behind opening victory over Australia on Tuesday, scoring twice to become France's joint record marksman.

Leading the line on his own as Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann worked the channels behind him, Giroud looked every bit the 36-year-old as France's midfield struggled early on and Australia took the lead.

With Australia leading 1-0 after Craig Goodwin's ninth-minute opener, purists may have groaned as Giroud ambled around waiting for service. However, when Adrien Rabiot slid the ball across the box just after the half-hour mark, Giroud made no mistake to give France the lead.

Connecting with a cross by Mbappe, Giroud headed home his second goal after the break and lay flat on his back with his hands on his face in apparent disbelief before his teammates hauled him to his feet to celebrate.

"I don't know if he was thinking about the record, he focuses on what he does on the pitch," said coach Didier Deschamps.

"He's very effective, it's great for him, he's very useful the way he links up with the team."

By that stage, any prospect that France might suffer the same kind of shock defeat that Saudi Arabia handed Argentina earlier in the day was long gone.

Giroud came off the pitch in the 88th minute to loud applause, if not exactly an ovation, from the French fans having equaled the tally of 51 goals that Thierry Henry scored in his 123-match international career from 1997 to 2010.

"On a personal level, I couldn't have hoped for more," Giroud told reporters.

"It's a great source of pride and I don't intend to stop here. I hope to continue in the competition to help the team achieve our goal. Always taking one game at a time, getting stronger."

The lithe Henry was very much in the French tradition of scorers with flair, following in the footsteps of the likes of Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Jean-Pierre Papin.

Giroud could surpass them all in scoring terms in Qatar, even if finding the net again is far from guaranteed given he failed to get a single shot on target as France romped to the title in Russia in 2018.

Deschamps, once himself derided as a midfield "water carrier" by the eminently talented Eric Cantona, does not care what the critics think as Giroud fulfilled his role in helping the brilliant attacking talent around him unlock defenses.

"What matters the most to me is what he does for the team," Deschamps added.

Giroud's impressive silverware haul is also testament to his value to the team.

He won three FA Cups (2014, '15 and '17) and another at Chelsea (2018), and found the net when the Blues beat the Gunners in the 2019 Europa League final. He was also a key player in Chelsea's run to the Champions League title in 2021.

Last season, he collected a Serie A winner's medal with AC Milan.

"He deserves respect for performing at the very highest level for so many years and delivering even when nobody seemed to believe in him," said Giroud's France teammate Benjamin Pavard after Tuesday's win.

"I am so pleased for him because he is a great guy. I hope he keeps going and beats more records."

The win left France top of Group D after Denmark and Tunisia drew 0-0.

"It is nice to score four goals, even if we could have had more, and it's a really good start for us," said Deschamps, whose squad has been beset by injury problems.

Lucas injury

As well as Benzema, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante — Les Bleus' starting midfield duo four years ago — are out of the tournament.

Centerback Raphael Varane was not risked having not played since sustaining 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.

France suffered another injury blow when Lucas Hernandez hurt his right knee in the build-up to Australia's goal.

The Bayern Munich defender was helped off and taken for tests, 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 long range that flew just wide.

Yet he played a part in the 27th-minute equalizer — 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.

A Jackson Irvine header that hit the post in first-half stoppage time was a reminder that Australia could still threaten, but France ran away with the game after the break.

Griezmann had a shot cleared off the line just before Mbappe made it 3-1 midway through the second half, as he headed in off a post from Dembele's cross.

Mbappe then turned provider as France got its fourth goal in the 71st minute, crossing for Giroud to head in a historic goal.

After all the injuries, and after seeing what happened to Argentina earlier, this was a good evening for France but a sobering one for the Socceroos.

"Overall the boys did all they could and that's all I can ask," said Australia coach Graham Arnold.

Agencies