France secured a comfortable 4-1 victory over Australia in the FIFA World Cup after coming from a goal down.
Les Bleus entered this contest on the back of three defeats, two draws, and just one win in their six games in the UEFA Nations League. They finished a dismal third in League A Group 1 with just five points. Didier Deschamps and his men were eager to repeat their exploits from the 2018 World Cup as they looked to defend their crown.
Australia, on the other hand, entered this contest on the back of five wins in as many games, including friendlies. Having already seen Saudi Arabia upset Argentina earlier in the day, the Socceroos were eager to put in their best performance.
France made a decent start to the game but were soon put on the back foot as Australia scored the opener inside 10 minutes. Mathew Leckie did well to control the ball on the wing before whipping in a cross into the box. Craig Goodwin was lurking at the far post and scored with a thumping strike into the roof of the net, giving Hugo Lloris no chance.
The defending champions then asserted themselves on the proceedings as they tried even harder to score. Adrien Rabiot did well to get on the end of Theo Hernandez’s cross to nod in the equalizer after 27 minutes. Rabiot then set up Olivier Giroud as France grabbed a deserved lead after 32 minutes. They carried a one-goal lead into the break.
Australia showed some resilience as they defended well and held off France for a decent chunk of the second period. However, their resistance eventually broke down as Ousmane Dembele picked out Kylian Mbappe perfectly with a cross for him to make it 3-1 after 68 minutes. Mbappe then provided an assist for Olivier Giroud to make it 4-1 after 71 minutes.
Both managers then turned to their respective benches and made multiple changes. Australia’s intensity cooled off very quickly as they were drawn into reckless challenges towards the end of the game. France, however, held their nerve to secure a big win to kick off their World Cup campaign.
On that note, let’s take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5. Australia looked all set to cause an upset in the early stages
France made a decent start to the game but soon found themselves chasing the game thanks to a brilliant phase of play by Australia. Mathew Leckie showed great composure on the wing to bring the ball under his control. He then fired a cross towards the far post from which Craig Goodwin scored.
The goal was against the run of play and looked to make the home team slightly nervous. Had Australia kept up the pressure, things could have turned out differently.
#4. Lucas Hernandez limps off with an injury as France’s woes continue
As all the Australian players huddled around Goodwin to celebrate their first goal at the World Cup, Hernandez was in a pile on the floor in agony. He seemed to have been caught by Leckie’s leg in the build-up and injured himself. This adds to France’s list of stars who are injured, with Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema already ruled out.
#3. France tends to score goals in bursts during a game
The French scored four goals in today’s win over Australia, with their goals clubbed in pairs. Rabiot and Giroud scored to complete their comeback in the first half from goal down. Their goals had just five minutes between them, showing Les Bleus’ tendency to use their momentum to their benefit by going all out.
Mbappe and Giroud scored within three minutes of one another in the second half, extending France’s lead to three. As soon as the third goal was scored, one could see a visible drop-off from the Australian players and it seemed as though the game was done.
#2. It will be hard to stop France in attack
When the attack, the French national team is a joy to watch because of how several players get involved in every move, adding different dimensions as they go. France had five different players involved in the four goals they scored, with three different players scoring and four different players providing the assists.
Mbappe and Rabiot both grabbed one goal and one assist each, while Olivier Giroud scored a brace. This shows the quality that Le Bleus have throughout their frontline.
#1. Olivier Giroud equals Thierry Henry’s long-time record
With his brace in today’s game, Giroud is now level with the legendary Henry on 51 goals for Les Bleus. Coincidentally, both the strikers hit their 51st goals in their 115th caps for the national team. He is also one of the oldest players to appear and score for the French team aged 36 years.