On November 23 at the Al Janoub Stadium, in Al Wakrah, defending champions France will play with Australia in the Group D’s second match of their FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign.
‘Les Bleus’ nickname of the France Football team, will miss their captain, Real Madrid’s Star striker Karim Benzema, Juventus’s central midfielder Paul Pogba and Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante.
It will now rely heavily on Kylian Mbapee, Antonie Griezmann and Oliver Giroud trio to score the initial points in the table against Australia.
Post Russia, the France have added another major trophy to their cabinet in the form of the UEFA Nations League. This time, France wil try to become only the third team after Italy and Brazil to win back-to-back World Cups.
The Socceroos, also the nick name for the Australia national football team, is going to miss its striker Martik Boyle, citing injury.
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Both, France and Australia had met in the last edition of the FIFA World Cup in 2018 where the French side won against the Socceroos by a 2-0 goal margin.
Head to Head:
The defending champions Les Bleus (France) — two-time FIFA World cup winner — have won only one of their six games in the UEFA Nations League in June and September. But, they can turn tables anytime with the potential players like Mbappe.
On the other hand, the Socceroos (Australia) in four of their five previous appearances, have been eliminated from the group stage. They progressed only in 2006. Stats say Australia have won only 2 of 16 matches in the World Cup, which is 13%.
Key Players:
France:
Kylian Mbappe’s presence led to the France’s World Cup success of 2018, who scored four goals in seven matches. This time too, France will reply on him to create magic with his foot. Mbappe has been almost unstoppable for Paris Saint-Germain this season as he scored 19 goals in 20 games for the Ligue 1 giants.
Australia:
For the Socceroos, former Valencia and Arsenal goalkeeper Mat Ryan can prove to be a crucial player. He has played all 11 of Australia’s third and fourth-round matches in AFC qualifying for the World Cup.
Also, this is Ryan’s third World Cup for Australia, which is the most of any goalkeeper for the nation.
Lineup:
France XI: (4-3-3): Hugo Lloris, Benjamin Pavard, Ibrahima Konate, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Hernandez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud
Australia XI: (3-4-3): Mat Ryan, Nathaniel Atkinson, Harry Souttar, Kye Rowles, Aziz Behich, Aaron Mooy, Jackson Irvine, Riley McGree, Craig Goodwin, Mathew Leckie, Mitchell Duke
Date, Time & Venue:
The France vs Australia match will be played on November 23 at 12:30 AM (IST).
Live-streaming details:
The Argentina vs Saudi Arabia match will be broadcast live on the Sports18 and Sports18 HD TV channels in India and Jio Cinema’s app and website will both offer free live streaming of the event.
Prediction:
Despite marred by players’ injuries, the only team that handle a double blow it is surely France.
As per experts’ predictions, France are relatively overwhelming favourites to start with a win and may finish with 2-0 against the Socceroos.
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