France will embark on the defense of their World Cup title in their opening match of Group D at the Al Janoub Stadium on Tuesday, with an injury-hit squad set to face Australia.
Les Bleus went all the way in Russia four years ago, while the Socceroos are aiming to end a run of three successive group-stage exits.
When one thinks about Kylian Mbappé, goals automatically come to mind.
The French attacker is lethal in front of goal and will be expected to lead the line for France at the World Cup after being instrumental in their triumph in 2018.
THE FRENCH TEAM
Injury after injury after injury has been the theme for France even before the first ball has been kicked, with Saturday night’s headlines being made after Karim Benzema was made to withdraw after picking up a thigh issue, having just returned to full training alongside Raphael Varane.
Karim Benzema is also ruled out, after he left France training after 15 minutes, and could miss the whole tournament.
Christopher Nkunku, who made the final World Cup squad, has had to withdraw after picking up a knee injury. Randal Kolo Muani replaced him in the squad.
Similar to Nkunku, Presnel Kimpembe was called up but has withdrawn after he failed to recover from his injury in time. Axel Disasi takes his place.
Interesting, France have won 6 of their last 7 matches (FIFA World Cup) and are the overwhelming favorites for the game, with quality players who star at the top level of European football throughout their ranks despite numerous injuries.
THE AUTRALIAN TEAM
Australia qualified for World Cup 2022 after defeating Peru in a penalty shoot-out in Qatar.
Victory in the inter-confederation play-off against the South Americans meant Australia maintained their record of reaching every World Cup finals since 2006.
However, it was a far from convincing performance in the AFC qualification process as the Socceroos finished third behind Japan and Saudi Arabia in the second stage and then narrowly defeated the UAE to reach the play-off final.
Australia manager Graham Arnold’s decision to replace goalkeeper and captain Mat Ryan with Andrew Redmayne just before the shoot-out against Peru turned out to be an inspired one.
The art of taking off a goalkeeper and bringing on a penalty-saving specialist is a difficult one to master, but Australia manager Graham Arnold pulled it off in the Socceroos’ playoff finals with Sydney FC goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne in the shootout helping to send Australia through to the Mundial in Qatar.
Redmayne’s efforts ensured that Australia would be present at the World Cup finals for the fourth time on the bounce, but the Socceroos have suffered three group-stage exits in that period and have only won one of their last nine games at the tournament – a 2-1 success over Serbia in 2010.
A round-of-16 berth in the 2006 tournament represents the Socceroos’ best achievement on the biggest global stage so far, and while they flattered to deceive during AFC qualifying, Arnold’s men head into their opening match on the back of five successive victories.
Al Janoub Stadium, a capacity of 40,000 would host both teams in todays’ group opener.
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Source: etvghana.com
