France beat Australia 4-1 in their FIFA World Cup opener on 22 November, thanks to Olivier Giroud’s record-breaking double, and Twitter has been sent into a meltdown.
The Aussies took a surprise lead in the ninth minute when veteran winger Matthew Leckie left Theo Hernandez on the ground in a heap.
The Melbourne City attacker found striker Craig Goodwin with a low cross who buried past French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
France reacted strongly and bombarded Australia goalkeeper Matthew Ryan’s goal.
Their pressure paid dividends in the 27th minute as midfielder Adrien Rabiot grabbed Les Bleus’ equalizer.
The Juventus man headed past Ryan following Lucas Hernandez’s ball into the box.
Dider Deschamps’ side dominated following the equalizer, and Giroud added their second in the 32nd minute.
The veteran AC Milan frontman evaded his marker in the box to fire France into a 2-1 lead and notch his fiftieth international goal following Rabiot’s cutback.
Giroud, 36y 53d, became the oldest European player to net in a FIFA World Cup tournament since Georges Bregy, 36y 152d, scored for Switzerland in 1994.
France dominated the game and went close in the 66th minute when Antoine Griezmann was denied on the line.
However, seconds later, Kylian Mbappe scored his first goal of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and deservedly so.
His wayward pass found Ousmane Dembele on the byline, the Barcelona winger crossed, and the Paris Saint-Germain striker headed home Les Bleus’ third.
Giroud bagged his second of the night in the 71st minute and tied Thierry Henry as France’s highest all-time goalscorer with a fantastic finish following Mbappe’s cross.
Deschamps’ men secured deserved all three points in their FIFA World Cup opener against Australia.
They sit top of Group D, two points ahead of Tunisia and Denmark, who settled for a 0-0 draw earlier in the day.
Here are some reactions from fans on Twitter:
Diego Lugano claims that some France players are happy that Karim Benzema is missing the FIFA World Cup
Former Uruguay captain Diego Lugano has claimed that several French players will be happy to see the back of Benzema.
The Frenchman has been ruled out of the FIFA World Cup with a thigh injury he sustained in a pre-tournament training session.
The Real Madrid striker was set to play a starring role for Les Bleus following his 2022 Ballon d’Or win.
He has bagged six goals and one assist for Madrid this season but misses out on his first FIFA World Cup since 2014.
Lugano claims that certain French players are relieved over his absence, telling ESPN (via SPORT):
“I am certain, because I was a team-mate to some [France players] that they are very happy with the departure of Benzema.”
He added:
“[That kind of reaction] would never happen in Uruguay, Brazil or Argentina. It depends a lot on the way the team was put together and on the care that the coach has with the player profiles, not only technical, but personality. It has a lot to do with that.”