France striker Olivier Giroud has made history with his strike against Poland in the World Cup last 16.
By scoring his 52nd international goal to put his side ahead at the end of the first half, the AC Milan forward broke a record that stood for 13 years, surpassing Arsenal icon Thierry Henry as France's all-time leading goalscorer. Henry's last strike for France came back in October 2009, when he scored a penalty in a 3-1 win in a World Cup 2010 qualifier with Austria.
Giroud had already bagged twice in this tournament with his brace against Australia, which made his tally 51 goals - tied with fellow World Cup winner Henry. Now, he is a history maker after adding to that tally in the clash with Poland on Sunday.
After the goals against the Socceroos, the 36-year-old forward waxed lyrical about the man he has since overtaken in the scoring charts. "It means a lot to be alongside Thierry Henry as France's top goalscorers," Giroud explained.
"Personally, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be next to Thierry now. It is an unbelievable feeling - and we couldn't have hoped for a better start at the World Cup," he added. "But I aim to play football for as long as my body will allow me. I am a competitor. I am still very passionate and I still have all of my hunger. As long as I feel good I will do my best for the team to reach our target. I feel very good. Some of my friends have told me I'm like a fine wine."
His goal marks a drastic improvement from his performance at the last World Cup, which saw Giroud play 546 minutes of football en route to France's triumph without actually finding the net himself.
There was doubt over whether he would even make the squad for Qatar considering boss Didier Deschamps had chosen to leave Giroud out of his side for last summer's European Championships.
However, a last-minute injury to Karim Benzema on the even of the tournament meant Giroud was reintegrated into the fold. The former Chelsea man has played 116 times for his country, meaning he has toppled Henry's record in seven less games.
Giroud was as humble as ever after his opening night heroics against Australia, adding: "I just try to bring what I can do to the team and when I get the opportunity I always try to put the ball in the back of the net."
He has now achieved that and then some - 52 times for his nation, to be precise.
