“They have achieved a rare thing”, “This player is our detonator”: the French press rave after the victory of the Blues

It was only the ninth minute of play when Hugo Lloris turned on an unstoppable send from Goodwin. While we thought the Blues were in trouble, the reigning world champions came back to score before the break, making their whole profession speak. Adrien Rabiot was in the right place shortly before the half-hour mark to head back a cross from Théo Hernandez, who had replaced his brother Lucas (note: whose World Cup is already over). This same Adrien Rabiot snatched a ball from the feet of the Australian defense to serve Olivier Giroud, a few moments later. In five minutes, the meeting changed.

Giroud’s record, the Rabiot spark: what to remember from France-Australia

And for those who took the game along the way and were worried about not seeing Kylian Mbappé assisting or finishing either of the two French goals, they can be reassured. The Parisian was at the reception of a superb cross from Ousmane Dembelé to make the break before the 70th. Two minutes later, he dropped his direct opponent with a double acceleration before dropping the leather on the skull of Olivier Giroud, who offered himself a double and a record (note: he became the top scorer in history des Bleus, tied with Thierry Henry).

The victory of the Blues conquered the press. A brief overview in the French media.

In one of its newspaper, L’Equipe puts Olivier Giroud in evidence by titling: “Sky blue”. “After a catastrophic start (Australian goal and injury to Lucas Hernandez), the horizon cleared for the French team. The World Champions are first in their group thanks in particular to a double from Olivier Giroud. He joins Thierry Henry as the Blues’ top scorer with 51 goals”, writes the daily.

L’Equipe talks about the rebirth of the Milan striker. “Still in uncertainty about his presence in Qatar three months ago, while Karim Benzema was on fire, Didier Deschamps did not want to put him in competition with the future Ballon d’Or and a new generation seemed to have him scrapped, the phoenix has signed a breathtaking new renaissance. Perhaps the most beautiful, for a boy who could sometimes be considered spoiled – when he lost his starting place at Arsenal then at Chelsea but never at the Blues – and to whom we have always repeated that he would never be ranked among Zidane, Henry, Platini or Kopa in the collective mind. […] Benzema’s withdrawal gave him the opportunity to become essential again, and this performance against Australia necessarily changed the opinion of the recalcitrants about him, especially since the development of Mbappé in the left half-space and the excesses of Théo Hernandez on one side and Ousmane Dembélé on the other seem to draw a scenario in which he would no longer be there only to “weigh on the defenses”.

For its part, Le Figaro highlights Kylian Mbappé: “The boss is Kylian Mbappé. And even more so after the withdrawals that have been raining down on the Blues for several weeks. And the Parisian fully assumed his status on Tuesday at the Al-Janoub stadium. It’s not his best game, he has sometimes been messy, a little too greedy or simply not successful. But the detonator is him. In all the good shots, he has put the Australian right-back through an ordeal. And he is involved in all three last. Not perfect but essential.”

On his website, So Foot is full of praise for Olivier Giroud: “Despite his advanced age, the French striker has the freshness of a young wolf with long teeth, starved to death and ready to kick his fang without making in details”.

In its columns, Le Parisien evokes the “end of the curse of champions”. “It’s a perfectly successful entry, if we remove the heavy and early injury of the left side Lucas Hernandez”, can we read. “A world champion who wins for his return to a World Cup has become a rare thing. […] The French team gave a sensational proof of life this Tuesday evening, November 22 in Qatar, took two points ahead of Denmark and Tunisia and extricated themselves from an evening that began like the apocalypse and ended in the euphoria of an equaled record. The thesis of the miracle having no depth, all that concerns the France team, its sins of the season and of the moment – ​​defending badly –, as well as its eternal happiness. From the leaping Giroud to the gripping Kylian Mbappé, head scorer too, like a complete panoply, in the sense of disguise”.

The newspaper highlights a “historic” Olivier Giroud. The AC Milan striker has become the oldest French scorer in the World Cup. At 36 years and 53 days, he broke the record of Zinédine Zidane who had scored his famous panenka against Italy at 34 years old. Le Parisien also salutes the performance of Kylian Mbappé. “There was Giroud, but there was also Mbappé. A scorer but also a decisive passer, the PSG striker did not miss his reunion with a competition that had revealed him to the eyes of the planet. four years ago in Russia.”