France striker Olivier Giroud said Tuesday that he was looking to bring something new to Les Bleus after getting his first call-up to an international finals for Euro 2012.
France coach Laurent Blanc on Tuesday named his final 23-man squad which included Giroud with Lyon's Yoann Gourcuff and Giroud's Montpellier team-mate Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa the two men axed from the provisional list.
"My role will be to bring something different," explained the 25-year-old Giroud, who had a superb season last term with his 21 goals a major reason for Montpellier winning their first ever Ligue 1 title.
"I've an atypical profile and I hope to be able to transform what I know what to do onto the pitch."
The Montpellier player said that making the Euro squad had been his primary focus since the beginning of the season.
"I gave an interview at the beginning of the season and when asked what I dreamed of I replied: 'To play an international competition with France'. I had a great season and little by little I gained in confidence and hope.
"The pressure is going to build as the days go on. It's something new for me, something different. I'm very proud to wear the blue jersey, it really makes you want to be there. It's very exciting. There will be pressure but a good pressure."
And he believes that France have the form to capture a third European title after 1984 and 2000 despite having to battle back from two goals down at half-time to beat Iceland 3-2 in the first of three warm-ups for Euro 2012 on Sunday.
"We're capable of great things. We've beaten great footballing nations. We got a slight scare against Iceland but we showed our character.
"There are things that need to be worked on but there are good things. We just have to find the right balance, to be serene defensively."
He added: "We can't wait for the competition to start and to clash with the English. We're impatient to measure ourselves against them and to see if we're capable of getting out of this tight group."
France have been drawn in Group D with old rivals England, co-hosts Ukraine and Sweden.
Source: AFP
