Les Bleus came back from a goal down to rout Australia 4-1 to begin their 2022 World Cup defence. Olivier Giroud grabbed a brace while Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe also scored for Didier Deschamps‘ side.
For a while, it seemed like the World Cup defending champions’ curse was alive and breathing after France conceded a shock goal inside the first 10 minutes. Against the run of play, Craig Goodwin gave the Socceroos the lead with a thunderous strike at the far post in the ninth minute of the game.
Getting on to the end of Matthew Leckie’s cross from the right, Goodwin smacked the ball into the back of the net. Lucas Hernandez was left clutching his right knee in the immediate aftermath as he failed to win the ball off Goodwin. France later confirmed that he had ruptured his ACL, ruling him out of the remainder of the World Cup.
His brother, Theo Hernandez, came on as a replacement as France struggled to create enough open spaces. Australia were more direct and capitalised on the gaps left in midfield, while Mbappe presented the only threat for Les Bleus from the left flank.
However, despite their shortcomings, Deschamps’ men pulled level thanks to Adrien Rabiot, who headed home substitute Hernandez’s cross in the 27th minute. Things went from bad to worse very quickly for Australia as Mbappe shifted more centrally to cause problems to the opposition backline.
The PSG star then back-heeled the ball inside the area to Rabiot. The Juventus midfielder slid it towards Giroud to tap it in from close range just five minutes later to give France the lead of the contest.
From that point on, France found a better foothold in the game and the movement on the pitch was more fluid and dynamic. It helped them to stretch their lead in the second half when Mbappe silenced the Australian fans in the 68th minute with a glancing header off Ousmane Dembele’s cross.
Giroud was once again on hand to put the ball into the back of the net but his second goal on the night was special. He was now level with Thierry Henry on top as the highest international goalscorer in French history, with 51 goals each.
The 4-1 win was a fair reflection of the mismatch between the two sides and France have begun their World Cup campaign as they mean to go on.
Elsewhere, Mexico and Poland shared the spoils after a goalless draw in Group C. Guillermo Ochoa saved Robert Lewandowski’s penalty in the second half to protect the clean sheet for Mexico in a game that had otherwise little talking points.
