Argentina shocked, Denmark held, Memo Ochoa saves, Olivier Giroud reaches France milestone

There were no current Chelsea players in action on Tuesday at the World Cup, but former Blues Olivier Giroud and Andreas Christensen both saw action, with the latter keeping a clean sheet for Denmark in a disappointing 0-0 draw against Tunisia and the former getting on the scoresheet for France in an expected 4-1 walkover against Australia.

Giroud scored not once but twice to get the defending champions off to a good start, and his brace was notable for a couple reasons. First, they were his first goals in this competition for eight years — he quite famously went without a goal or even a shot on target despite playing a key role as the center forward for France in their 2018 triumph — and second, they were his 50th and 51st national team goals, which now have him level with Thierry Henry for the all-time mark.

Giroud may not have started if Karim Benzema didn’t have to pull out of the Cup with a last-minute injury, but France remain one of the main favorites either way. And their easy win stands in stark contrast with the shock 2-1 defeat of Argentina by Saudi Arabia earlier in the day. Argentina were looking to equal the all-time record for unbeaten international games in a row at 37, but instead they suffered what’s being called the greatest upset in World Cup history — certainly as far as betting odds are concerned — and is being celebrated by a national holiday tomorrow!

And speaking of oopsies, Robert Lewandowski was denied his first ever World Cup goal by the legend that is Memo Ochoa, who earned a share of the points for Mexico in their goalless draw against Poland. Chelsea target Edson Álvarez played the full 90 for El Tri, and certainly didn’t do his transfer prospects any harm.