Olivier Giroud has warned France that they are determined to thwart Lionel Messi’s World Cup fairytale as the face off on Sunday in Qatar.
Superstar Messi, 35, of Argentina, will take on France in the championship game on Sunday, and he’s determined to capture the trophy that’s eluded him throughout his great career.
Giroud, a former striker for Chelsea and Arsenal, claims that as they want to duplicate their triumph from Russia four years ago, they are prepared to ruin Messi’s World Cup dream.
Giroud remarked: “Messi is an incredible player, but we are not going to let him enjoy the best night he can have. We want to win this game. We want to win another World Cup.”
“We will try everything to stop him. But there is not only Messi in that team. They have got great players who work for the team also. I think that is why they are so strong.”
N’Golo Kante’s marking of Messi helped France knock Argentina out of the 2014 World Cup in the round of 16. However, the Chelsea midfielder is injured this time around, and Giroud confesses he is unsure of how they will stop him.
Giroud continued: “I remember back in the days of 2018, N’Golo [Kante] was all the game on his back, behind him. But this time I don’t know what the plan will be. We will see with the manager.”
Giroud, however, is adamant that France is prepared to make history once more and that his team is prepared to win a third World Cup for the country.
The forward continued: “It’s amazing to be there four years after Moscow. We have one more time a great squad. We believe in ourselves and our quality.”
“I think we deserve to be there [in the final] because we put so much effort to reach that level. Now we will do everything to bring a third star for France.”
“We are lucky to have a very talented squad, young players. But not only that, we have also got some players who were there in 2018 and had the opportunity to play a World Cup final. So, hopefully, it will help obviously and we will try to make the youngsters be in the best conditions for this game.”
Lionel Messi is leading Argentina in both categories heading into the final versus France with five goals and three assists at the 2022 World Cup.
Despite being well aware of the threat he poses, Olivier Giroud and the rest of the team appear to believe they are equipped to slow or even stop the 7 time Ballon d’Or winner.
Olivier Giroud
A striker for Serie A club AC Milan and the France national team, Olivier Jonathan Giroud was born in France on September 30, 1986.
He is regarded as one of the most underappreciated attackers in the world due to his work ethic, strength, shot power, and ability to consistently score goals.
At the age of 25, Giroud made his senior international debut for France in 2011. Since then, he has amassed over 110 caps, participating in six major competitions.
He is the all-time leading scorer for France, and after his country placed second in the 2016 UEFA Euro, he was awarded the Bronze Boot.
Later, he won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, participated in the UEFA Euro 2020, and the FIFA World Cup 2022.
2022 FIFA World Cup Final
At 16:00 on Sunday, the World Cup final will be played between Argentina and France. Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi have motivated their respective countries throughout the previous month in Qatar.
Will the Argentine finally win the trophy that has escaped him, making the tournament known as the “Messi World Cup,” or will Mbappe lead France to more victories, building on their success from four years ago in Russia?
The 2022 FIFA World Cup Final is association football game that serves as the championship of FIFA’s competition for men’s national football teams, which is in its 22nd edition.
Argentina and France will face off in the final of the tournament at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on December 18, 2022, which is Qatar’s national holiday.
In the semi-final stage of the Qatar World Cup, Argentina avenged their defeat by soundly defeating Croatia by the same score in a repeat of the 2018 match, which Croatia won 3-0.
Alvarez scored a solo goal five minutes after Lionel Messi’s first-half penalty.
Argentina secured their spot in the final for the second time in eight years after Messi helped Alvarez on both of his goals in the second half.
In the quarterfinals, France faced off against longtime rivals England in a tight game. Thanks to goals from Aurélien Tchouaméni and Giroud, France defeated England 2-1.
Harry Kane’s penalty allowed England to tie the game, but Kane missed a second opportunity to tie it, sending France into the semifinals instead.
Théo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani scored twice to put an end to Morocco’s historic run, advancing France to their second consecutive World Cup final for the first time in three decades. Morocco was the biggest underdog of the tournament and had defeated both the Iberian representatives Spain and Portugal.
