Graeme Souness has confessed he is not Olivier Giroud's "biggest fan" and labelled his remarkable goal record for the France national team as "lucky".
Giroud is now tied with Arsenal great Thierry Henry when it comes to goals scored for Les Bleus on 51, with the 36-year-old missing out on the chance to break the record during France's second World Cup group stage game against Denmark on Saturday evening.
France ran out 2-1 winners thanks to a brace from Kylian Mbappe, but ahead of kick-off Souness let rip at Giroud and belittled his achievements for both club and country. Speaking to ITV, the pundit claimed Giroud has only managed to score so many for his nation because of Karim Benzema's lengthy absence from the France set-up.
"I'm not his biggest fan', Souness explained. "Seven games in the last World Cup in the team that wins it and he never had a shot on target. When you talk about mentioning him in the same breath as Thierry Henry - sorry!
"I would say his record is there for one reason: Benzema being out for such a long time because of all the controversy he's involved with. Benzema, the current Ballon d'Or holder, will be missed in this French team this competition. Benzema is completely on another level."
The Real Madrid talisman endured a six-year absence from the France national team as a result of a falling out with the French football federation. Having initially been selected by boss Didier Deschamps for the Qatar World Cup, injury ruled Benzema out on the eve of the tournament.
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After fellow pundit Ian Wright challenged Souness' assessment, he pushed back by doubling down and claiming: "The goalscoring records are marked up because of the amount of games the teams play in these daft competitions. I just think it's an anomaly.
"At 36, fair play to him he's still playing in the French team. His best year in English football is 16 goals for Arsenal which is a marker for anyone.
"I don't think he'd have a look in at this World Cup if Benzema had been available. He's hard a large slice of luck in his career."
With all this being said, Giroud has actually managed to amass his tally of 51 goals in seven fewer games than Henry, as the Gunners legend represented France on 123 occasions while the current frontman has 116 appearances under his belt.
Giroud's failure to add to his tally against Denmark did not prevent France from becoming the first nation at the Qatar World Cup to progress to the knockout stages of the competition.
Didier Deschamps' men are aiming to become the first nation to retain their World Cup crown since Brazil six decades ago.
