“Conquered football through sheer grit” – Nigerian fans praise the world’s ‘most underrated striker’

The Frenchman hit a new landmark in his career on Sunday night after a memorable performance in Qatar

A section of the Nigerian fans has poured encomium on AC Milan forward Olivier Giroud after the forward became France’s most prolific goalscorer in international football.

Giroud scored the first goal of the match – Kylian Mbappe added two more – as France dished out a 3-1 thrashing to Poland in Doha, Qatar, in a Round of 16 clash at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

That goal took Giroud’s tally for France to 52 goals in 117 appearances and shot the former Chelsea man past Arsenal great Thierry Henry as Les Bleus’ greatest-ever goalscorer.

Despite winning the Ligue 1 with unheralded Montpellier, the Champions League with Chelsea, the Serie A with Milan, and the World Cup with France, Giroud is not often in the conversation about the world’s greatest players.

This has fueled talks that Giroud, new France’s all-time leading scorer, is the ‘most underrated striker’ in the world.

Many Nigerian football fans, however, have deep respect for Giroud. And quite a few took to the social media platform Twitter to celebrate the man who came from nothing to achieve everything through self-belief, determination, and hard work.

Olivier Giroud will hope to continue his excellent form when France face England in the quarterfinal of the World Cup.