World Cup 2018: France vs Belgium, 5 Premier League players to watch out for

SOCCER: JUL 06 FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal - Uruguay v France
If his side fails against Belgium, Deschamps' position as the national team coach could be under fire

#2 Olivier Giroud

SOCCER: JUL 06 FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal - Uruguay v France
Giroud often acts as a target man for the rest of his team

The 31-year-old forward has yet to score in Russia, but that does not make him a less important player for Deschamps. Giroud failed to start France's opening match against Australia and the national team coach instantly realized his mistake in omitting him. From then on, the Chelsea man has played every minute of the competition.

Although the 1.92m centre-forward does not have the pace to challenge the defenders, he definitely has got the height to head the ball into the net and also bring it down for his team-mates. Every long ball delivered by Hugo Lloris or the rest of the team is targeted towards Giroud. He would then hold the ball for Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, who would get forward to support him. That is clearly one of Deschamps' tactics when it comes to attacking.

Even though his time at Arsenal was often heavily criticized by fans, one must not forget his ability to offer another method of attack. Besides that, Giroud also provides a huge threat in his opponent's box when it comes to set-pieces. Because of his height, he often gets into an excellent and unmarked position in the box and easily directs his header towards the goal.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram
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