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Olivier Giroud Didn't Manage A Single Shot On Target In The World Cup

Olivier Giroud Didn't Manage A Single Shot On Target In The World Cup

The France forward didn't start the first game but was the World Cup winners main striker after that but didn't find the goal once.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

France are worthy winners of the World Cup and it somehow seems even more impressive by the fact that their number nine didn't even have a shot on target, fair play Olivier Giroud.

There's no doubt that before the World Cup France were one of the favourites to win the tournament, you merely had to look at the attacking talent available to them to know that.

In the first game of the group Didier Deschamps unleashed a front three of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele against Australia and they were expected to run riot against the team from down under.

Instead the Europeans were pretty lucky to win 2-1 thanks to a VAR given penalty and a rather fortuitous Paul Pogba winner as France got off to an industrious but not glamorous start.

The decision in the second game was to drop Dembele and bring in Olivier Giroud as Griezmann moved to play out wide. It wasn't a universally popular opinion but it seems to have worked.

That said though the Chelsea forward has played 465 minutes of World Cup football, the equivalent of over five full games, and had 13 shots with not a single one of them on target.

Giroud after missing in the semi-final against Belgium. Image: PA Images
Giroud after missing in the semi-final against Belgium. Image: PA Images

Of course it's Griezmann and Mbappe that Deschamps side rely on to score their goals, as well as defenders who chipped in plenty, and Giroud has more functions than just scoring but that still seems ridiculous that he hasn't had at least one goal on target.

The closest he came to a shot on target was against Peru. His shot deflected to Mbappe in the area who slotted the goal home but his shot didn't count as being on target.

Giroud gets subbed off. Image: PA Images
Giroud gets subbed off. Image: PA Images

It really didn't matter in the end that the Chelsea forward wasn't able to find the goal as France won the World Cup anyway.

Griezmann, Mbappe and Paul Pogba all scored and Mario Mandzukic also scored an own goal as they beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow.

It was only the second time that they had won the tournament and the first time they won it away from home after winning it in France 20 years ago.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics:Β Football News, Chelsea, World Cup news, Olivier Giroud, World Cup, France

Ryan is a writer for SPORTbible. He covers all sport from football, formula one, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, mma and wrestling. He obviously hates YOUR football team and has no interest in synchronised swimming.

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@Sidler28