Revenge on the agenda for team player Olivier Giroud

Olivier Giroud admits France will have revenge on their minds when they tackle Germany for a place in the Euro 2016 final on Thursday.

Germany’s path to World Cup success in Brazil two years ago included a 1-0 victory over France in the Maracana at the quarter-final stage, with Mats Hummels scoring the only goal early on. Hummels will sit out the semi-final in Marseille having been booked in Germany’s last-eight win over Italy on Saturday. Arsenal forward Giroud, who netted twice as Les Bleus swept aside Iceland 5-2 to advance into the last-four, admits that his side have not forgotten their loss to Germany in Rio de Janeiro. “It will be a totally different match,” he said. “They’re the world champions and they’re often in the last four of major tournaments. It will be a great match. “We have a lot of desire to try and get our own back for what happened in the World Cup. We beat them here in a friendly match, we won 2-0, but it will be a completely different game in Marseille.” Giroud has not always been a popular figure with some French supporters but he received a standing ovation when he was withdrawn in the win against Iceland, while he was also named Man of the Match. His ability to maintain his form for another two games could be key if Didier Deschamps’ team are going to win Euro 2016. Giroud says personal accolades come second to the team winning, but he is delighted with his current form. “It’s always nice to be named man of the match but, first and foremost, it’s about the team reaching the semi-finals and our performance,” he added. “I don’t know if it’s my best performance (for France). I have played some other good games as well, but in a major tournament that is perhaps my best performance, if you will. I felt really good physically right from the start of the game.” France are 2.75 to win Euro 2016 while Giroud is 8.00 to finish as leading goalscorer in the tournament.