- Les Bleus opened campaign against Socceroos
- AC Milan striker netted twice
- Did trade jerseys at the end of the match
WHAT HAPPENED? The France international striker, who became his country’s all-time leading goalscorer in Qatar, pulled level with Thierry Henry at the top of a notable goal chart when bagging a brace against the Socceroos in a tournament opener for Les Bleus. Jason Cummings has claimed that after that contest he was ignored by the veteran AC Milan forward when attempting to negotiate a jersey exchange, but Giroud has shown in a social media post that he was happy to grant requests from members of the Australia squad.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Former Hibs and Hull City midfielder Jackson Irvine, who is now on the books of German outfit St Pauli, was the man to land Giroud’s shirt at the end of a 4-1 defeat for Australia against a side that were reigning world champions at the time.
WHAT NEXT? While Cummings was left empty-handed, Australian stars did do well out of their trip to the Middle East as Hearts midfielder Cameron Devlin was able to swap shirts with Lionel Messi after a last-16 encounter in which the iconic Argentine – who went on to inspire his country to global glory – made his 1,000th competitive career appearance.