Giroud, 32, helped France win football’s greatest honour in Russia – despite not scoring all tournament.
He is still struggling to come to terms with the fact he’s a World Cup winner – not that his Chelsea pals will let him forget it.
There was a post-match inquest after Chelsea fell to a 2-1 defeat to Wolves last week between Eden Hazard, Antonio Rudiger, Mateo Kovacic and Giroud himself.
The striker told The Guardian: “It was a long journey and Rudi [Rudiger] was teasing me: ‘Anyway, what do you care? You won the World Cup’.
“Mateo, who’s won three Champions Leagues, said there is nothing above the World Cup. So maybe people do see me differently, especially in the dressing room.
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“I’ve been blessed but I’ve always said football is an everlasting new beginning. You can’t rest on your laurels. You have to prove yourself again.
“Anyway, there has been no time to sit and take it all in. You’d think when you win the World Cup you’d have festivities for weeks but we went straight back to our base in Istra, an hour outside Moscow.
“We spent time with the families but it was a bit ‘soft’. We didn’t go crazy.Ā
“I’d achieved a childhood dream and I knew I had the best job ever when the jets flew over on the Champs Elysees. But then we had 19 days’ holiday, everyone going their separate ways, and when we got back together [in September] we had another competition to play.”
France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final – a result that transformed a nation.
Giroud continued: “What you do notice is the effect it had on France. There had been the attacks in 2015 and I know we have problems now [with violent protests against Emmanuel Macron by the gilets jaunes movement] but we united the nation for a while.Ā
“Football is the best thing to bring people together. That was clear from the impact we had on society in France.Ā
“People forgot their worries, went into the streets and just celebrated.Ā
“We are not a nation in wartime at home but we go through tough times. And yet football can be so good, it’s crazy. It’s good for the mental health of the people.”