Giroud threw a water bottle when he was substituted at the end of the first half
Five minutes after Angel di Maria made it 2-0 for Argentina, coach Didier Deschamps pulled Giroud off the field to make room for Marcus Thuram. The 36-year-old striker still shook hands with the coach on the way off the field, but when he returned to the technical area, he could not contain his emotions, grabbed a water bottle and threw it on the ground.
Giroud scored four goals from the start of the tournament, but lacked in the first 41 minutes of the final against Argentina. He touched the ball 12 times, passed with 56% accuracy, lost the ball four times and failed to finish. Before the match, according to French media, Giroud had mild flu symptoms and a headache, but was still ranked as the main stone.
At the same time as Giroud, Ousmane Dembele also left the field to make way for Randal Kolo Muani from 41 minutes. Dembele played worse than Giroud, when he lost the ball 7 times and fouled Di Maria in the box, helping Lionel Messi to open the penalty. number.
After the game, Deschamps explained that he made a substitution at half-time because he was unhappy with France's performance, and denied that Giroud and Dembele played worse than their teammates. "If we're 0-3, we can't complain," said the 54-year-old coach. "We didn't do the right things for an hour. But then, with a lot of courage, energy and quality, we pushed Argentina to the limit."
Deschamps' personnel adjustments all worked when Thuram played aggressively, constantly running to help Kylian Mbappe have more space, and Muani brought a penalty to help his teammates shorten the score to 1-2. . Muani even had the opportunity to become a hero of France when he faced goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in an empty position at the end of the second extra time. However, the 24-year-old striker's shot was blocked by Martinez with his foot. France then lost 2-4 in the penalty shootout.
In addition to Giroud, Raphael Varane, Ibrahima Konate, Adrien Rabiot, Dayot Upamecano and Kingsley Coman were also ill, affecting France's preparations. Besides, Aurelien Tchouameni (hip) and Theo Hernandez (knee) have mild pain.
Deschamps admitted the flu caused France to not perform in the right way and underperform in the first half of the final. "The whole team has been facing a difficult situation for a while," he said. "Maybe it has a physical or psychological impact on the players. But the starters are in the best shape. Maybe they are tired with only four days of rest. We may not have enough capacity. The same quality as last time, but this is not an excuse."
If he continues to lead the French team, Deschamps and his students will return in March 2023, with matches against the Netherlands on March 24 and the Republic of Ireland on March 27 in the Euro 2024 qualifying round.
