France has a new all-time leading goalscorer.
Olivier Giroud earned the title with a late first-half goal in his country’s World Cup round of 16 match against Poland on Sunday. Kylian Mbappé fed a pass into Giroud, who spun around and blasted a left-footed shot past Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny to open the scoring.
Giroud tied the legendary Thierry Henry with two goals in France’s World Cup opener against Australia, bringing him to 51 for his international career. He did not find the scoresheet in either of France’s final two Group D matches and found the back of the net once again to kick off the knockout stage.
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The 44rd minute strike could have been Giroud’s second goal of the game. He had an earlier opportunity in the 29th minute but went wide of the left post off a cross from Ousmane Dembélé.
The 36-year-old striker first appeared for the French national team in 2011. He is now appearing in his third World Cup and has brought France one step closer to defending its title from 2018.
