Euro 2024 draw: “It won’t be easy, but we remain the favorites,” says Olivier Giroud

2023-12-02 21:55:08

Suspended with his club AC Milan, the top scorer in the history of the Blues (56 goals in 129 caps) took his place in front of his television screen to watch, at home with his family and friends, the draw of the final phase of Euro 2024, this Saturday in Hamburg. Reached by telephone before setting off for San Siro, where the Lombard club welcomes Frosinone in Serie A, Olivier Giroud, 37, deciphered the Blues group.

Can we consider that France has inherited a group within its reach?

OLIVIER GIROUD. It already seems more accessible to me than that of Euro 2021 (Editor’s note: Germany, Portugal, Hungary). We have to pass, but it won’t be easy and that promises good matches.

It still seems difficult not to designate the Blues, vice-world champions, as the favorites of the group?

We remain the favorites, yes. It will be up to us to be 100% and do the job in this group. We will do everything we can to finish first and thus inherit a more affordable opponent in the round of 16 (Editor’s note: 2nd in the Portugal group). I insist on this point. The most important thing is to come out of this group with the best possible ranking.

Your main rival appears to be the Netherlands. Do you agree?

We know the Netherlands very well having faced them during the qualifiers. I would have preferred to avoid them, because they are always a bit boring to play. We haven’t always won against them in the past. They have less weight, fewer big names than at a certain time. We must not forget that when we beat them 4-0 in March 2023, they had 7 or 8 absentees. All in all, they really have the means to annoy us.

What does Austria inspire you?

This is the first match. It is always important because it sets the tone. We will have to win it to approach the clash against the Netherlands in the best possible condition. Austria has a great generation of young quality players who play in big clubs. It would be advisable to be wary of it.

Is it annoying not knowing the identity of the 3rd opponent?

Not really. It will be known at the end of March. We will have time later to study it. If it’s Poland or Wales it will densify this group even more. On paper these two countries seem to me to be the best armed and above Estonia and Finland. We must not forget that before leading the score against the Poles at the 2022 World Cup, in the round of 16, they created three chances.

Is it an advantage to play your last group match against this opponent from the play-offs, on paper the one presumed to be the weakest?

It is undoubtedly better, in fact, to compete for the first two against the best nations on paper. If we achieve a flawless performance, we can then look forward to the future more calmly and it could be an opportunity to turn things around. And if, on the contrary, we play our qualification on this last meeting, it cannot be a disadvantage to be opposed to the opponent supposedly the most affordable.

Personally, the Netherlands and Austria are doing quite well for you. Is that something we’re thinking about?

It can be good for confidence. After all, no match is like another. And what happened before is not necessarily intended to happen again. Each encounter holds its own truth.

You are at 56 goals, reaching or even surpassing the 60 mark during the tournament, is that the ambition?

It would be nice to cross this symbolic threshold on this occasion.

This will be your 7th final phase. Do you imagine this will be the last?

It’s the same with Milan. Every Champions League match, I say to myself: maybe this is the last. I enjoy every moment. The closer you get to the end of your career, the more you should savor these moments. I don’t plan beyond the Euro. I don’t know for sure yet what will happen next. The French team has always been and remains my guiding light. My number 1 goal is to be in Germany in June and make it to the end, if possible. This is the only title I’m missing from the selection. We didn’t get far in 2016. I have a lot of hopes and ambitions. This will probably be my last competition with France.