France vs Australia
FIFA World Cup
Date: 22 November 2022, Tuesday
Kick-off at 19:00 UK / 20:00 CET
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium (Al Wakrah).
At the Al Janoub Stadium, France and Australia will square off in their opening World Cup match.
The World Cup’s defending champions, France, will be looking to get off to a perfect start against Australia on Tuesday.
From two completely different perspectives, two completely different teams will compete.
By defeating Croatia in the World Cup final of the most recent edition, Les Bleus broke their winless streak and reached the pinnacle.
It will be essential for the current champions to make a seamless transition from their recent performance, which included a loss to Denmark, their main opponent as the French team aims to win their group.
Didier Deschamps has been dealing with a number of issues, from off-field gossip to numerous injuries, and a decisive victory over Australia would temporarily divert attention.
The defending champions from the 2002 World Cup crashed out of the tournament without recording a single victory, and they would not want to repeat that feat while the memories of that tournament are still fresh.
Australia is competing in its fourth World Cup finals and will be looking to improve on their group stage exit total of three from last year.
The Socceroos will mobilize all of their resources to make sure their stay this time is a little bit longer after a brutal qualifying campaign.
The Australians will undoubtedly feel confident against the World champions after five straight victories, but their history against the current World champions won’t give them much motivation.
The only time they defeated the French was in the 2001 Confederations Cup, but Graham Arnold’s team has all the potential to be the next big surprise.
France vs Australia Head to head :
- Australia have lost five of the last six games at World Cups
- France are the reigning champions
- Kylian Mbappe is the top scorer of Ligue 1 this season
France vs Australia Prediction :
Australia, which will be competing to prove its sheer existence on this larger platform, will be outgunned by France, which has more weaponry overall.
The French team does have a number of injury worries heading into the World Cup, but that won’t affect how they play on the pitch.
France vs Australia Team News :
Even before the opening kickoff, injuries have been a recurring topic for France. On Saturday night, Karim Benzema’s forced withdrawal due to a thigh problem made headlines after only recently rejoining Raphael Varane in full training.
Deschamps has been compelled to replace Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku with Axel Disasi and Randal Kolo Muani, respectively, in addition to not naming a replacement for Benzema.
In Benzema’s absence, the attacking lineup is anticipated to consist of Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, and Ousmane Dembele.
Varane may not be risked for the first matchday, so Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano may start at the back.
Varane, meanwhile, has been cleared by Deschamps to make his debut, while Eduardo Camavinga, who missed training on Sunday due to discomfort, is expected to be fine for kickoff.
The Hibernian striker Martin Boyle has been dealing with a knee issue and has been forced to leave the team. France are not the only country that has been plagued by injuries.
The 29-year-old has been replaced, and other than Ajdin Hrustic, who has reportedly been working as usual following his own injury concern, Arnold has all of his squad healthy and ready to go.
Despite having had little to no match practice since having his ACL repaired, Stoke City defender Harry Souttar has stated that he is prepared to play on the first matchday.
However, Bailey Wright may start out being preferred in this situation while Souttar works to regain his fitness.
France possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Pavard, Upamecano, Konate, Lucas Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud
Australia possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Atkinson, Wright, Rowles, Behich; Hrustic, Mooy, Irvine; Leckie, Duke, Goodwin
