Kick-off: 1900, 22/11/2022
Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
TV: BBC
France begin the defence of their World Cup crown against Australia, bidding to become only the third nation to retain the trophy and the first since 1962.
Didier Deschamps remains at the helm after leading Les Bleus to glory in Russia four years ago and they are third favourites to taste glory again in Qatar at 7/1.
An opening win against Australia – just as they did with a 2-1 triumph in 2018 – should get the defending champions off to a good start.
However, we do fancy the Socceroos to nick a goal again, so 11/5 for Les Bleus to win and both teams to score is our first France vs Australia prediction.
France Odds
France were dominant in winning the World Cup in Russia, lifting the trophy after beating Croatia 4-2 in the final, as their star-studded squad knitted together perfectly.
Since that success, however, their form has been patchy, including when stunned at Euro 2020 by a last-16 elimination on penalties by Switzerland, having stuttered through a difficult group.
Les Bleus won the second Nations League crown last October after a 2-1 win over Spain, but have shown their frailties by faltering in that competition this time around.
That form has raised questions over their credentials in Qatar, especially as they were beaten at home and away by Denmark, who also feature in this pool, alongside Tunisia.
N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba are out through injury this time, along with Ballon d’Or hero Karim Benzema, Presnel Kimpembe and exciting RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku.
Raphael Varane must recover from an issue in time to be fit to play, but Deschamps still has plenty of firepower at his disposal, including Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud.
“Triumphing at a very high level is very difficult, defending a title is even more difficult,” declared the head coach.
“However, I have confidence in these players. We know our three adversaries (Australia, Denmark and Tunisia), but we want to go further and reach the knockout phase.”
As already mentioned, Deschamps’ side met Australia in the opening match in Russia, emerging as winners thanks to an 81st-minute own goal after a respectable display by the Socceroos.
Mile Jedinak had earlier cancelled out Antoine Griezmann’s opener, with both of those strikes coming from the penalty spot on 58 and 62 minutes.
Looking at the France vs Australia odds, we fancy 19/20 for more goals to be scored in the second half again here.
Australia Odds
A play-off win on penalties over Peru ensured Australia have now qualified for every World Cup since 2006 and they will arrive in Qatar with a collective spring in their step.
After a disappointing qualifying campaign, where they finished behind Japan and Saudi Arabia, Graham Arnold’s side can focus on attempting to match their best finals display – a last-16 elimination in 2006.
Arnold made a huge call in the 119th minute against Peru, taking off captain Mat Ryan and bringing on back-up goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne for the shoot-out.
The Sydney FC goalkeeper, dancing to distract his opponents, made the decisive penalty save to send Australia to Qatar.
Australia have a number of players with experience of English football, including Ryan, defender Bailey Wright and midfielders Aaron Mooy and Jackson Irvine.
“We grew up in Australia, we’ve been part of qualifications and we have seen teams qualify when we were younger, so we have seen what it does to a nation and to you as a young footballer,” Wright said after the Peru victory.
“We are going to inspire generations for years to come. Going to a World Cup is massive. You can’t underestimate what we have just done and achieved for ourselves and the whole country.”
Australia are 10/3 to make it out of the group in Qatar, while if you fancy an upset they are 23/2 to beat France.
More realistically, we reckon the Socceroos can hold Les Bleus to a draw at half-time, before the holders pull away to win, with that outcome added to our France vs Australia betting tips at 29/10.
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