Coach Didier Deschamps hails French striker's brace in 3-0 win over Scotland in final warm-up encounter; Koscielny scores team's third goal
France forward Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring against Scotland in an international friendly in Metz, France on Saturday
Metz (France): Olivier Giroud scored a brace to silence his critics as France showed that they are ready for Euro 2016 with a 3-0 Scotland 3-0 in their last pre-tournament friendly here on Saturday.
France forward Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring against Scotland in an international friendly in Metz, France on Saturday. Pic/AFP
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Giroud's Arsenal colleague Laurent Koscielny scored from a header, in the first half too, separated the teams at the Stade Saint-Symphorien, and France could have won by a far greater margin.
The much-maligned Giroud followed up his goal in last Monday's 3-2 defeat of Cameroon in Nantes with a brace and coach Didier Deschamps said the Arsenal striker has proven his critics wrong.
"He already answered (the critics) in Nantes. He scored and scored again, and the other players are behind him," said Deschamps of a player who has seven goals in France's last seven outings.
Didier Deschamps
"When a player is in difficulty they are all with him. He was not so much in difficulty but he was being heckled from outside. I have confidence in him and so do his team-mates."
The only doubt regarding Deschamps' line-up appears to be in attack, where Dimitri Payet and Anthony Martial are contesting one place.
Meanwhile, Leicester City sensation N'Golo Kante looks set to start against Romania after an impressive display replacing the injured Lassana Diarra in the holding midfield role. "Everything about his performance was good," said Deschamps, whose team will also face Albania and Switzerland in Group A.
"Everything seems simple and easy for him. I have played in that position and sometimes you find yourself catching your breath. He sticks to what he knows and he does that very well. He doesn't say much, just smiles. He has no anxiety, no fear."
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