Speaking in a press conference at the French national team base in the Al-Messila hotel, France’s record goalscorer Olivier Giroud discussed his bromance with Kylian Mbappé, breaking the all-time scoring record, the keys to win the quarter-final vs England on Saturday and much more.
On his relationship with Kylian Mbappé:
There was nothing calculated (about their celebration), I laughed a lot with all the photos (memes) being made. Top-level sport gives us great moments like this. For me, it meant a lot (the goal). All matches are difficult to win. We know how hard it is to progress. This goal was a huge relief. For me, our relationship has always been good. This infectious enthusiasm shows and we want to pass it on to everyone and most importantly give pleasure to our supporters.
On what Raphaël Varane had to say at half-time in the match vs Poland:
He had a very good discourse that hit the bull’s eye, especially about the huge chance that the Poles had (in the 1st half). We didn’t find ourselves trailing, we arrived in the dressing room with a goal up. This made it possible to give the guys a bit of a booster shot, we simply had to score the next goal, we had to not relax and correct certain things, continue to be compact, to keep this level of effort, being one for each other.
On receiving a phone call from André-Pierre Gignac:
I was at the table, it was late, I had not had the chance to respond to all the messages (congratulating him on becoming France’s all-time top scorer. I saw his call, I wanted to immediately pick up, see his lovely face. It reminds me of the good memories from Euro 2016. He is a friend, we are still in contact, it was a good surprise to see his call.
Olivier Giroud trained as normal tonight with the rest of the squad, that is believed to be experiencing a totally clean bill of health, 4 days ahead of the quarter-final clash with England. Kylian Mbappé stayed inside, and was the only player to do so, but the FFF medical staff were quick to deny that anything unordinary is happening with the player’s fitness.
James Thorpe | GFFN