How Important Was Olivier Giroud in France's 2018 World Cup Triumph?

When Didier Deschamps announced his 23-man France squad for the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, many eyebrows were raised. Alexandre Lacazette was not included in the squad following a season that saw him register 17 goals and 5 assists for Arsenal. Neither was Anthony Martial, who provided 11 goals and 9 assists for Manchester United, or Wissam Ben Yedder, who scored 22 goals and 5 assists for Sevilla, or Karim Benzema, who notched 12 goals and 11 assists for Real Madrid.

The sole central forward on the France squad was Olivier Giroud. The 32-year-old had fallen out of favor at Arsenal following the arrival of Lacazette from Lyon the previous summer, and was sold to Chelsea in the final days of the January transfer window. Amid all competitions, Giroud had registered 12 goals and 3 assists in the 2017/18 season.

Giroud found himself on the bench for France's opening match against Australia at the Kazan Arena, but by the time he was subbed on for Antoine Griezmann in the 70th minute, the Socceroos were holding Les Bleus to a 1-1 draw. It didn't take long for Giroud to make his mark on proceedings; receiving a quick pass from Paul Pogba, he played a quick one-two into the Manchester United midfielder's path. Pogba's shot careened off Aziz Behich, rebounded off the post, and bounced beyond the line.

France held onto a 2-1 victory, and from that point on, Giroud held onto his place in the starting line-up for the rest of the tournament. Perhaps even more stunningly, he was only subbed off twice -- once in the semi-final against Belgium, once in the Final against Croatia.