Olivier Giroud took his chance when it mattered to lead France to victory. Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
AL KHOR, Qatar — A game of football can sometimes be decided in a matter of seconds. On Saturday night, in the freshness of the Al-Bayt stadium, with their 2022 World Cup quarterfinal tied at 1-1 after goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Harry Kane, Marcus Thuram was about to come on for France with roughly 10 minutes still to play against an England side who had been on top; Olivier Giroud was about to come off.
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France coach Didier Deschamps had made up his mind, yet he felt something and decided to wait a little longer before making the substitution. A few seconds later, Giroud’s volley was denied by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, before the No. 9 scored almost straight afterwards in the 78th minute with a powerful header from a peach of a cross by Antoine Griezmann.
After celebrating the goal with his fellow subs by running onto the pitch to join Giroud in front of the French fans, Thuram sat back down on the bench with a massive smile on his face. He would not be coming on now, but it didn’t matter.
At that time in the game, France were under pressure. England were the better team, playing on the front foot and creating chances but failing to kill France off. But this France squad are all about resilience and mental strength. And when Kane had the chance to level the score — and become England’s outright record goal scorer — from the spot in the 84th minute, he blazed his penalty over the bar after a foul from Theo Hernandez on Mason Mount.
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