Zlatan Ibrahimovic knew full well that his Milan teammate Olivier Giroud would be the star man for France at the World Cup. ‘He is a winner.’
Giroud was originally not even going to be in the squad in Qatar, but earned his place with the Scudetto-winning campaign at Milan and then was promoted to first choice after Karim Benzema’s injury.
Asked before the tournament began if Giroud should be in the France team, Ibra had no doubts.
“Yes, because he is a winner. He’s a serious person. He’s not a player who will score 40 goals a season, but he will bring something to the team that others do not.
“Because he is not on the pitch for himself, but he is there for others.”
Ibrahimovic had also said in a different interview that Giroud would be the top scorer in Qatar and the man of the tournament.
France will play England in the quarter-final this weekend.