World Cup, relentless Giroud. France is not just Mbappé

Forward in the sign of Mbappé, who thanks to two goals against Poland is now the top scorer of the World Cup (5 goals), but also of Giroud, the AC Milan forward who scored the 1-0 goal and with his movements and his touches made the teammates’ task easier. If at the beginning of the tournament Benzema’s Ballon d’Or injury had created assorted concerns among Les Bleus fans, the performance of the Devil’s striker swept them away: Olivier in three appearances in Qatar has already scored 3 centers and above all, after the bench to catch his breath in the irrelevant match against Tunisia, he restarted strong.

MESSAGE TO AC MILAN

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The World Cup is sending an important message to the club in via Aldo Rossi which is still awaiting Ibrahimovic’s return up front and also has Origi, with his ups and downs in form. The real fixed point for the present, however, is Giroud, who in parentheses has a contract expiring on 30 June. At the age of 36 (they will become 37 in September), retirement can wait for him. For his scoring frequency, for his intact physique, but above all for the tactical intelligence that he shows in almost every match. If Maldini and Massara don’t want to let him slip, they will have to start negotiations with his agent in good time. After a World Cup like this, there will be no shortage of fans. Especially from Mls and the Emirates.

DOUBLE DIGIT

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Mbappé is a phenomenon, but the number 9 born in Chambéry is very good at opening up space for him, even taking a few blows from the opposing centre-backs to free his team-mate. This also happens to Milan when being a “boa” up front allows Leao and the others to have more freedom of action. With the Rossoneri he scored 9 goals in 19 matches and his 4 goals in the Champions League were crucial to gaining access to the round of 16. However, there will be time to think about the resumption of Serie A and the Champions League: now Olivier is “tuned in” only to the World Cup and the clash in the quarterfinals with the winner of England-Senegal. In all, he has 12 goals in 2022-23 and to think that in the summer of 2021, when he arrived at Milanello after his experience at Chelsea, someone considered him “finished”: since then he has won the Scudetto as a protagonist , “overturning” a key derby against Inter in a matter of seconds, and scored other heavy goals like boulders. He has a frightening bulletin board in which the 2018 World Cup and a Nations League with France, a Champions League and a Europa League with Chelsea and other titles with Arsenal stand out. Seeing how he fights on the pitch, he fights and scores, the feeling is that he still has the desire to lift trophies.