Olivier Giroud scores in France win

PARIS: Olivier Giroud defied the doubters again as he marked his France comeback by scoring his 47th international goal when the world champion beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in a friendly on Friday. Giroud, who had not been called up since his country was knocked out in the last 16 of the European Championship last year, cancelled out Nicolas Pepe's opener to move four goals shy of Thierry Henry's France all-time scoring record before Aurelie Tchouameni wrapped up the win in stoppage time.

The AC Milan forward, who rarely disappointed coach Didier Deschamps despite limited playing time when he was at Chelsea, was included in the squad following Karim Benzema's injury.

He started alongside Christopher Nkunku as Kylian Mbappe sat on the bench after suffering from an ear, nose and throat infection earlier this week.

France next take on South Africa in Lille on Tuesday as it continues the build-up to this year's World Cup in Qatar.

"We had less stamina after the break but we were rarely in danger. We're a bit lucky to score that second goal but that's the name of the game," said Deschamps. Agencies

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