France vs Australia 16/06/18

16 June 2018

One of the most talented squads at the World Cup, France, will play against Australia at the Kazan Arena in Kazan in the opening match of Group C. Considering the potential and quality Les Bleus possess within their ranks and a dominant performance in the qualifying period, they are among the most probable candidates to lift the most prestigious international football trophy on the planet. After an unexpected 3-2 loss to Colombia, back in March, Didier Deschamps had recorded three consecutive victories before playing out a 1-1 draw with the United States, last week. On the other hand, Australia had managed to qualify for the final tournament through the inter-confederation two-legged play-off battle with Honduras, whom they’ve defeated 3-1 on aggregate after finishing third in their respective qualifying group, behind Japan and Saudi Arabia. While preparing themselves for the World Cup, the Socceroos faced off against three European sides, including Norway, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, pulling off two wins, against Hungary and the Czech Republic, while losing 4-1 to Norway.

Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe are supposed to spearhead France’s attack backed by the likes of Paul Pogba and N’Ggolo Kante, while Van Marwijk might start the match with three of his best midfielders, Mooy, Tom Rogic, and Massimo Luongo, to try to slow down the pace of Les Bleus’ devastating attack.