Didier Deschamps described Olivier Giroud as "indispensable" after the Chelsea striker scored the decisive penalty in France's 2 - 1 win over Moldova in Paris on Thursday night.
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The 33-year-old has openly discussed his frustration at a lack of game time at Stamford Bridge, last month saying that his priority was to be in the national team's squad for the summer's European Championship and, as a result, he needed regular minutes.
Deschamps has also insisted that Giroud must be playing for his club to be part of his squad but, following their scrappy win at the Stade de France, the World Cup winning coach said that Giroud's performances for Les Bleus explains why he remains first-choice striker.
"He is useful and indispensable," Deschamps said. "He is very effective and made the decision to shoot the penalty. He allows players around him to have goal chances too. Which also explains why he stays with us despite his playing time at Chelsea."
Giroud decided to take the 79th-minute penalty instead of Antoine Griezmann, and also played a big role in Raphael Varane's contentious equaliser by getting in the way of Moldova goalkeeper Alexei Koselev.
The visitors had led courtesy of Vadim Rata's early goal on a testing evening for France, who were already qualified for the tournament.
"He was confident, he took the ball and he did well," Griezmann said of the penalty.
Frank Lampard has said he would listen to Giroud if the former Arsenal man asked to leave but has also promised that he will get opportunities as the season progresses.
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