World Cup: Thierry Henry's Record in Genuine Danger After Karim Benzema's Injury

World Cup: Thierry Henry's Record in Genuine Danger After Karim Benzema's Injury

Rene Otinga
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:17 PM
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  • Thierry Henry has sat on top as France’s all-time goal scorer with 51 goals since 2009
  • Three of his goals for France came in the 1998 World Cup, which Les Blues won
  • But his record is being pursued by an unlikely hero, Olivier Giroud, who is only two goals shy with 49 goals for France

Giroud is set to play a key role in Didier Deschamps’ squad for the World Cup after Karim Benzema’s injury

Football fans all said the same thing after Karim Benzema’s injury ruled the Ballon d’Or winner out of the World Cup in Qatar.

Benzema, 34, went into the tournament with knee and hamstring issues and had been training with the French national team before eventually bowing out.

Olivier Giroud, France, World Cup
Olivier Giroud of France poses during the official FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 portrait session on November 17, 2022. Photo by Michael Regan.
Source: Getty Images

The Real Madrid man engaged in a full training session on Saturday, November 19, but had to pull out early after experiencing pain in his left thigh, and the French Football federation confirmed he has suffered a tear that ruled him out of the tournament.

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France coach Didier Deschamps would later confirm that he would not be bringing in any new additions to replace Benzema ahead of the World Cup, a move that provides a massive chance for AC Milan man Olivier Giroud

Giroud is currently on 49 goals for France, just two behind the all-time record held by the legendary Thierry Henry.

Henry has 51 goals for France, which is the most of any player since he established the feat in 2009.

As it stands, the French team will largely rely on Giroud, Kylian Mbappe, Antoinne Griezzman and Kolo Muani for goals.

France begin their World Cup trophy defence against Australia on Tuesday, November 22 in Group D, which also has Denmark and African dark horses Tunisia.

With Les Blues standing a high chance to proceed to the knockout stages, it is hard to bet against Giroud getting at least two goals in the tournament.

Goalkeeper to face country of birth

Earlier, Sports Brief reported of how Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan is on a collision course with Croatia, the country of his birth.

Borjan has been a consistent figure for the Canadian national team for nearly 10 years now, and his omnipresence is largely because of his superb performances in front of goal.

He was born in Knin, Croatia and honed his football skills in the small European country and eventually settled in Canada aged 13 in the year 2000.

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Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.
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