Olivier Giroud has said that he is willing to do whatever it takes to help France qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil at the expense of Ukraine.

Les Bleus were beaten 2-0 defeat in Kiev last week in the first leg of their European qualifying playoff and are on the cusp of failing to reach their first major tournament in 20 years.

France will need to become the first-ever nation to overturn a two-goal deficit heading into the second leg of the tie, but Giroud insists that they will do all they can to make history.

"We are ready to die on the pitch to get there," Giroud said. "Those are big words, but we want to show the people of France and ourselves that we are proud to be able to represent our country and our people.

"We are used to playing in important matches even if this one is the game of the year for us and one of the most important I will ever play in. It is hard because the Ukrainians are aggressive and play with a bit of nastiness too. I am not going to complain but hopefully we can play our game and respond to their physical approach.

"I have so much anger inside me that I hope to transform into positive energy. But we can't forget that we need to play. Football is a technical sport and we have plenty of qualities in that regard. We need to show more determination to qualify. I still can't imagine France missing the World Cup. Eighty percent of football is played in the head and that will be the case on Tuesday."

Reports claim that Giroud will be dropped by manager Didier Deschamps to the bench for the clash in Paris.

Written by
Matt Cotton