Karim Benzema and Olivier Giroud Could Spearhead France World Cup Attack

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 1, 2014

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As we move closer and closer to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, one of the hot topics in France is who will start as les Bleus central striker in the opening game against Honduras. Karim Benzema has had his issues in the past, while Olivier Giroud has at times struggled for confidence at Arsenal.

Both players, on merit, could make a case for being named as France’s best option up front, but perhaps there is another option. It’s something that both Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc before him failed to try for a prolonged spell: combining the movement and pace of Benzema with the target-man predatory instincts of Giroud.

It could just be the tactical move that takes France back to the top of world football.

Giroud will feel aggrieved that he hasn’t played more for France in the last couple of years. Since 2011, he has only made 26 appearances for les Bleus—the majority of them coming off the bench. During that time, Karim Benzema went 1,224 minutes without scoring an international goal. For most countries that would have been enough for any striker to have been sent to the bench.

The performances displayed by Benzema during the barren run weren’t good enough to defend him on effort alone. Overall, his record for France isn’t brilliant—10 of his 19 goals have come in friendly matches, and he has failed to score in any of the international tournaments he has been part of since making his debut in 2007.



At the start of Benzema’s drought, Olivier Giroud had just won Ligue 1 with Montpellier, and his £9.6 million move to Arsenal was imminent. In his last season in France, he scored 25 goals in all competitions and was vital in helping la Paillade lift their first ever top-flight title. He finished the league’s top scorer and was named in the UNFP Team of the Year.

In his 26 appearances for his country, the...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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