{"id":1261682,"date":"2022-12-05T13:17:41","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T13:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/12\/05\/giroud-becomes-frances-all-time-top-scorer-with-52-goals\/"},"modified":"2022-12-05T13:17:41","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T13:17:41","slug":"giroud-becomes-frances-all-time-top-scorer-with-52-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/12\/05\/giroud-becomes-frances-all-time-top-scorer-with-52-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Giroud becomes France’s all-time top scorer with 52 goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Round of 16 – France v Poland – Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar – December 4, 2022 France’s Olivier Giroud celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS\/Fabrizio Bensch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Olivier Giroud\u00a0has overtaken Thierry Henry to become\u00a0France\u2019s all-time top men\u2019s scorer, netting his 52nd for\u00a0Les Bleus<\/em>\u00a0in the World Cup round-of-16 game against Poland on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Giroud collected a pass from Kylian Mbappe in the 44th minute and sent a low shot with his left foot past Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, his former teammate at Arsenal.<\/p>\n

France went on to win the game 3-1 to set up a tantalizing quarterfinal match with England, who beat Senegal\u00a03-0\u00a0in the late game on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0AC Milan\u00a0striker had tied Henry\u2019s record 51 goals for the national team in France\u2019s 4-1 win against Australia in their opening World Cup Group D match earlier in the tournament.<\/p>\n

Giroud, 36, became France\u2019s oldest goal scorer with his header in a 2-0 win over\u00a0Austria\u00a0on Sept. 22, which took him to within two goals of the record, while his brace against the Socceroos in Qatar saw him pass Zinedine Zidane as his country\u2019s oldest scorer at a World Cup.<\/p>\n

The former\u00a0Arsenal\u00a0and\u00a0Chelsea\u00a0striker is now his country\u2019s outright top scorer, followed by Henry, who netted 51 times from 123 caps between 1997 and 2010.\u00a0Antoine Griezmann\u00a0has 42 goals, Michel Platini has 41 and\u00a0Karim Benzema\u00a0has 37.<\/p>\n

Giroud made his France debut aged 25 in 2011 when he came off the bench in a friendly win against the\u00a0United States\u00a0and scored his first international goal against\u00a0Germany\u00a0a year later.<\/p>\n

He has since scored 51 goals in 117 appearances for the national team and helped Didier Deschamps\u2019 side win the World Cup in 2018, although he did not score in the finals.<\/p>\n

His presence in France\u2019s squad, which had been in doubt ahead of the World Cup, wound up being very fortuitous for Deschamps after Benzema was ruled out before their first game due to injury.<\/p>\n

Giroud has enjoyed a glittering career at club and international level, winning Ligue 1, Serie A, the Champions League, the Europa League and four FA Cup titles across spells with\u00a0Montpellier, Arsenal, Chelsea and Milan.<\/p>\n

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