A deflected toe poke from Paul Pogba proved the difference as an off-kilter France were fortunate to record a 2-1 victory against a hard-working Australia in their opening World Cup Group C clash.
Here are our player ratings for the star-studded Les Bleus line-up:
Hugo Lloris – 7: Not a lot to do apart from the penalty which he could have done better with, half diving to the right while Jedinak hit it straight down the middle.
Benjamin Pavard – 7: The youngster had a fairly comfortable day handling the Australian forays with aplomb, will face sterner tests later in the tournament.
Raphael Varane – 8: The Real Madrid man had an untroubled afternoon as Australia worked hard to find an opening against the well-organised France back four.
Samuel Umtiti – 6: Gave away the penalty with an errant hand which allowed Australia to equalise and he would have been relieved that France snuck home, combined well with Varane.
Lucas Hernandez – 7: Kept busy with some probing runs by Mathew Leckie but handled them with relative ease, used his pace and positioning well.
N’Golo Kante – 7: As usual a tireless performance from the Chelsea workhorse, who provided a reliable screen in front of the France back four.
Corentin Tolisso – 5: Given his chance to start but the Bayern Munich man had a frustrating afternoon with Mooy and Jedinak both shading him in the midfield battle.
Paul Pogba – 6: The Manchester United superstar was kept surprisingly quiet by the hard working Australian midfield but made the difference with his deflected goal with ten minutes left.
Kylian Mbappe – 7: The PSG youngster found some space on the left but could not find Griezmann with the killer pass required to dissect a swarming Australian defence.
Antonie Griezmann – 7: A sharp run won the penalty to put France in front and he took the spot kick with aplomb, otherwise relatively quiet Replaced after 69 minutes.
Ousmane Dembele – 5: Disappointing performance from the Barcelona wide man who failed to create much, replaced on 69 minutes for Fekir.
Substitutes:
Olivier Giroud – 5: Came on at 69 minutes for Griezmann to use his height advantage but Sainsbury and Milligan cut off any crosses in his direction.
Nabil Fekir – 7: A second half substitute on 69 minutes and caused some late challenges for the Australian defence with his speed and creativity.
Blaise Matiudi – 6: Missed out on the starting line-up but was composed and efficient when he came on and may start instead of Tolisso next match.
