Giroud in action for the selection of France (Photo: AFP)
In 1998, in the title at home, France had three men-centers called: Guivarc & # 39; h, Dugarry & Trezeguet. None of them settled during the World Cup and they had to take turns. The sum of goals was unobtrusive: only two
The participation in the Cup was a mess. At the age of 28, Guivarc & # 39; h started as a starter, injured in the first game, and eventually lost the World Cup game. He made room for Dugarry, 26, who made his debut against South Africa and scored in the 3-0 win. But after that, he did not score again. Guivarc & # 39; h returned to the team and went to the final without even swinging the nets.
In the middle were two promising young men. On the other hand, Trezeguet was 21 years old and had chances. He came to score in the first round, but that was only once. He came sporadically in the second half. The other name of the attack was Thierry Henry, also at the age of 21 years old. At the time, however, he was more active on the field and left his mark once, in a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
With the scoreless goals for the strikers, France has experienced something that is repeating itself now. In the win over Belgium in the semi-finals, the Umtiti defender was the goal to score the final. As early as 98, the entire forest was decided by athletes who were not active in the attack. In the round of 16, defender Blanc scored in a sudden death against Paraguay. The quarter-finals were decided on penalties against Italy after a draw 0-0. In the semifinals, right-back Lilian Thuram shined with two goals on Croatia, a 2 win. at 1. And in the final, Brazil, Zidane He finished the match with two goals and the midfielder Petit declared the victory by 3 to 0.
France made the third final in 20 years. After the vice in 2006 for Italy with the defeat on penalties, has again the chance of bicampeonato. In the final, Giroud must be back in the field. He did not score or score a goal throughout the World Cup. But the French have already shown that it is possible to be world champion without needing the goals of a shirt 9. These are coincidences, that Deschamps knows, but does not want to take into account . At least not publicly.
– Everyone must live in his time. I never mention, never my story, players already know. I can not talk about what happened 20 years ago. It's different, that does not mean I'm not proud now. We can not look back, we can look forward. Let's try to write a new page in history, a beautiful page – said the coach.