'Go-karting' Giroud helps France zoom past opening hurdle

Team First Defending Champs Since Brazil In 2006 To Win Opening Game

- Dwaipayan.Datta timesgroup.com

Karim Benzema, during his days of French exile, once famously compared himself to Formula One, denigrating Olivier Giroud to the tag of ‘go-karting’.

But when the Formula One car broke down just when it mattered, due to lack of necessary pit-stops in the build-up to the World Cup, it’s go-karting that took over to help France break a famous jinx that has been bothering defending champions for a while.

In the last three World Cups (and even in 2002) — the defending champions had failed to win their first match of the World Cup and consequently were knocked out from the group stages. On Tuesday night, for a while Australia raised similar visions till the quality of France took over to turn things around to make it 4-1. They became the second team after Brazil (2006) to win their first game as defending champs in the new millennium.