Olivier Giroud is confident that he can lead France to European Championships glory this summer.
The Arsenal striker may have struggled over recent weeks at club level but he remains among the leading contenders to start upfront for Didier Deschamps’ side, who will be without Karim Benzema for the entirety of Euro 2016.
Despite the absence of the Real Madrid striker, the only player in the national set up other than Giroud with more than 10 international goals to his name, France remain many bookmakers’ favourites to claim the championships on home soil.
Were they to do so they would replicate the feat of the Euro 84 winners led by Michel Platini and the 1998 world champions and Giroud is convinced his country can make it a hat-trick of triumphs on home soil.
“Of course there is added pressure, but it is also really exciting,” Giroud said of the expectations as a host nation. “Having the whole nation behind you is very motivating.
“I think you have to take every game as it comes and not make any assumptions as anything can happen on pitch. The groups are still competitive, and I believe that this is down to the quality of European football is always developing.”
Euro 2016 team projections
Giroud could be doing battle with Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann for a starting spot in Deschamps side, with the likes of Anthony Martial, Dimitri Payet and Kingsley Coman offering an impressive array of attacking talent for Les Bleus.
However the Arsenal striker hopes to be paired with Griezmann at the championships and is confident the pair can fire in the goals for the hosts.
He added: “I hope that you will see a lot from us this summer. Griezmann is an amazing player as he has shown so many times this season for both Atletico and France? Antoine has so much to bring to the team, and I’m looking forward to playing alongside him.”
