France ready to 'pay back' Turkey

Olivier Giroud (left) and Antoine Griezmann during training at Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines in Paris.
Olivier Giroud (left) and Antoine Griezmann during training at Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines in Paris. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

PARIS • Having completed their first objective by beating Iceland on Saturday, Olivier Giroud has called on his France teammates to finish the job against Turkey today.

Successive victories over their two main rivals for the two top places in Group H will virtually assure the world champions of progress to next year's Euros.

However, the Chelsea striker knows a slip-up at the Stade de France will enable Iceland, who play minnows Andorra at home, to creep back into contention. Having been "a little bumped up" in the away fixture against the Turks, Giroud urged the hosts to "be ready on Monday to pay them back".

Recalling their 2-0 loss in Konya last month, he said on the French Football Federation's Twitter page: "We played poorly over there, we must not forget that.

"If we beat Turkey, we can say we're qualified, so let's take it one step at a time."

Giroud, 33, will be expected to lead the line again for France and, with Kylian Mbappe injured, he will have to shoulder even greater attacking responsibility.

But he has thrived on that pressure his entire career and, while he has barely played in the Premier League this season, he remains one of coach Didier Deschamps' most trusted lieutenants.

With 37 strikes, he is just four behind Michel Platini's mark of 41. Giroud again showed his importance in Reykjavik when he nabbed the winner from the spot.

Although surpassing that mark to become Les Bleus' second-highest goalscorer behind Thierry Henry (51) is a "personal goal", he insisted his priority was "to help the team".

Fellow forward Antoine Griezmann agreed, telling football website FourFourTwo they had "an important game coming up at home".

He added: "We're going to suffer against Turkey and we'll need to prepare well for it."

Coach Senol Gunes, however, suffered a blow after captain Emre Belozoglu was ruled out of their Paris trip with a broken rib.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 14, 2019, with the headline France ready to 'pay back' Turkey. Subscribe