It was only Luxembourg, but for his first preparation match before the Euro, Didier Deschamps lined up, on Wednesday, an eleven very close to his typical team of the moment. At least taking into account the absences of Ousmane Dembélé, Adrien Rabiot or Aurélien Tchouameni. The signal is therefore hardly favorable for Olivier Giroud.
The top scorer in the history of the France team had to settle for a substitute role in Metz, with the French coach preferring Marcus Thuram. The Inter Milan striker, however, hardly shone. However, Didier Deschamps took care to highlight his contribution to the work behind the scenes.
Only ten minutes of play but a record
“Marcus has a high volume of play and the positions are interchangeable. Since he’s putting in a lot of effort, and we’re going to need that, it goes against what he can do offensively. There are still adjustments but he is coming off a big season, he cannot be 100% tonight, confided the former midfielder. He is full of good will. With Kylian, there is complementarity and technical affinity. The main thing is that all areas are occupied. In offensive animation, having interchangeable positions is less predictable for the opponent. »
Olivier Giroud finally had to wait until the 81st minute to come into play. Too little to stand out, the former Gunner being weaned from balls. He nevertheless set a new record for the French team for his 132nd selection. At 37 years and 249 days, the native of Chambéry has indeed become the oldest player to be selected for the French team, thus erasing Steve Mandanda from the shelves.
