A stunning second half Paul Pogba strike has earned France a 2-1 victory over Australia in their Group C clash of the World Cup in Kazan.
Antoine Griezmann grabbed a goal in the second half, after he was hauled down by Josh Risdon in the box, before Mile Jedinak responded for the Socceroos from the penalty spot to make it 1-1 after a handball. Then Pogba delivered in the 81st minute to save French blushes and snare the win.
Australian coach Bert van Marwijk pulled one selection surprise, with Jedinak starting in central midfield and Massimo Luongo on the bench. Luongo was expected to start, after missing the pre-match conference, but instead van Marwijk gave Jedinak the captaincy back and paired him with Aaron Mooy. The rest of the Socceroos side was as predicted, with van Marwijk’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.
For France, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was captain with Benjamin Mendy and Olivier Giroud on the bench. Les Bleus started with a 4-3-3 with a fearsome three-man frontline of Kylian Mbappe, Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele.
It was a very nervy start for Australia with the Europeans making their intentions clear from the beginning. In just the second minute Mat Ryan was forced into making a good save from Mbappe. In just the first five minutes Ryan was called on to make to more saves to keep the French at bay. It was looking ominous with Les Bleus awarded a number of free-kicks in dangerous positions, and the Socceroos struggled to cope with their opponents superior speed and touch.
In the 12th minute Mathew Leckie went into the book for a crude challenge of Lucas Hernandez. The Australians were under siege but holding on. Slowly they started to settle and then a perfect chance for them to take the lead presented itself. Mooy won a free kick, which Trent Sainsbury managed to poke towards the French goal. Only a fantastic low save from Lloris stopped the first goal of the match and an unlikely Antipodean lead.
The Socceroos’ confidence was building and they began to enjoy more possession. But France weathered that good spell and pushed on. In the 30th minute only a timely interception from Mark Milligan stopped Griezmann being clear on goal. Griezmann should have scored a minute later, when he was in space inside the box, but his shot was wayward. France seemingly could turn it on when they wanted, creating space and opportunities with their swift movement.
The momentum swung back to the Australians corner and they held the ball for a time, looking for a way to penetrate the French defence. Les Bleus pushed higher up with the field and pressed to win it back. The Socceroos had a decent chance, right on half-time, when Behich crossed into the box and then shot wide after the ball rebounded back to him. But it remained 0-0 as half-time dawned, with France frustrated not to have gone ahead yet. van Marwijk had managed to make the Aussies compact and hard to break down, as promised.
The second half started with a flurry of free-kicks and heavy tackles. The pro-Australian crowd tried to lift its team, but neither side managed to fashion many attacking opportunities. The then contest was completely turned on its head.
Les Bleus were almost through on goal in the 53rd minute, but Josh Ridson slid in to clear the danger. That looked to be it, but the referee went to check it with the VAR and a penalty was awarded for Risdon, who just clipped Griezmann as he entered the box. The Atletico Madrid star took the penalty and buried it past Ryan easily to make it 1-0.
France’s lead lasted just five minutes. Risdon lofted a ball into the box and Samuel Umtiti crazily battered it away with his arm. A penalty was duly given for handball and Jedinak slammed it home. The equalizer spurred the Socceroos on and they impressively continued to go two and fro with Didier Deschamp’s men.
Subsitutes were then made, with Tomi Juric and Jackson Irvine replacing Andrew Nabbout and Tom Rogic. France were desperate for a winner and they emptied their bench quickly with Olivier Giroud, Nabil Fekir and Blaise Matuidi all coming on in the space of eight minutes.
The ploy worked, with France’s intensity lifted, but it was Pogba who rode to the rescue. His cheeky chip beat Ryan and cannoned off the crossbar and over the line. With six minutes left Australia threw on its last substitute Daniel Arzani, hoping for another equalisier. But it never came, and Les Bleus escaped a scare in Kazan to get its World Cup campaign off with all three points.
