France coach Didier Deschamps spent part of his first day in Russia defending Olivier Giroud as the Chelsea forward battles to stave off stiff competition for places ahead of Les Bleus' World Cup opener against Australia.

Giroud recently scored his 31st international goal, equalling the tally in a France shirt of Zinedine Zidane, but Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele has also staked his claim for a starting berth in attack with his form in the pre-tournament friendly matches.