France 4 Australia 1 FRANCE, UNWORRIED BY the shadows of either injury or history, opened their World Cup defence with a 4-1 win over Australia.
But then Kylian Mbappe caught fire, either scoring or making possible the goals France scored after Adrien Rabiot hauled them level. France were very sloppy, their second-choice midfield of Aurelin Tchoumaeni and Adrien Rabiot left oceans of space around them which was often exploited by French passing. At one point Theo Hernandez laid the ball back for Australia striker Mitchell Duke, who sent a long-range shot whistling just beyond Hugo Lloris’ crossbar.
On the other hand, France can be heartened by the performance of the oft-derided Rabiot, whose prior performances for France have often given the impression that Didier Deschamps had just handed boots and a French jersey to the first barista he met on South William Street. To say France are better without the Ballon D’Or holder seems absurd but Benzema has been a slightly discomfiting fit in this France team, one rapier too many. Giroud’s repertoire show he is is acrobatic but he is equally so in a positional sense, constantly drifting into strange locations and contorting his body to wave his more lethal strikers through.
Using the phrase smithereen👏
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