Mesut Ozil was delighted to see his former Arsenal teammate Olivier Giroud score for France at the World Cup on Sunday afternoon.
Giroud netted France’s opening goal in their 3-1 win over Poland to help the defending champions reach the quarter-finals of the tournament in Qatar. The veteran striker collected a pass from Kylian Mbappe before finding the bottom corner.
It was Giroud’s 52nd goal in his 117th appearance for Les Bleus – a tally which makes him France’s all-time record goal scorer. He overtook France legend Thierry Henry in the history books – a wonderful achievement which prompted a message from Ozil on Twitter.
“Nice goal... who taught you that bro,” he wrote alongside laughing, sunglasses and fire emojis. Attached was a GIF of Ozil and Giroud nodding at each other on the pitch while playing for Arsenal.
Ozil was teammates with Giroud for four-and-a-half years at Emirates Stadium and the duo enjoyed a good connection, helping Arsenal win three FA Cups in that period. The German playmaker frequently assisted the target man with through-balls and crosses, so saw himself in Mbappe’s delicate pass against Poland.
Giroud has netted three goals at the World Cup, with a brace against Australia bringing him level with Henry in the standings. Speaking before the Poland game, he explained how special the record was to him.
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"It means a lot to be alongside Thierry Henry as France's top goalscorers," Giroud explained. "Personally, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be next to Thierry now. It is an unbelievable feeling - and we couldn't have hoped for a better start at the World Cup," he added.
"But I aim to play football for as long as my body will allow me. I am a competitor. I am still very passionate and I still have all of my hunger. As long as I feel good I will do my best for the team to reach our target. I feel very good. Some of my friends have told me I'm like a fine wine."
While Giroud was the record-breaker, there was no doubt who the star of the show was on Sunday afternoon. Mbappe set up Giroud’s goal before banging in two strikes of his own in the second half.
The 23-year-old smashed a powerful shot past Wojciech Szczesny at the near post before curling a beauty into the far corner. That took him two goals clear at the top of the Golden Boot standings, with five in this tournament, while he has nine in just 11 World Cup appearances altogether – the same as Lionel Messi and one more than Cristiano Ronaldo.
