France 2-0 Australia: What’s your prediction?

Defending champions France start their campaign in Group D looking to beat Australia just like they did to kick off their 2018 journey in Russia.

Coach Didier Deschamps needs to reshuffle his attacking line in the absence of Benzema, with veteran Olivier Giroud likely to start along with Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

Giroud, 36, has long been underestimated as he does not have the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe or Benzema, but he has proved reliable and is only two shy of Thierry Henry's all-time goal scoring record of 51 with Les Bleus.

The Socceroos, on the other hand, will likely to be under the cosh from the get-go as they would be aiming to keep it tight instead of going at France, who by all means despite their injuries have enough at their disposal to brush aside a relatively feeble Australia.

When?

23rd November, 01:00 am, Bangladesh time

Where?

Al-Janoub Stadium, Al-Wakrah, Qatar 

Head-to-head

Matches 5

France 3

Australia 1

Draw 1

Prediction: France 2-1 Australia

Possible lineups

France: (3-4-1-2): Lloris (GK), Pavard, Kounde, Upamecano, L.Hernandez, T.Hernandez, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud

Australia: (4-1-4-1): Ryan (GK), Atkinson, Wright, Degenek, Behich, Mooy, Irvine, Krustic, Boyle, Mabil, Maclaren

Following is a statbox on France at the World Cup:

FIFA Ranking: 4 (Oct 6)

Odds: 6-1

Previous tournaments:

France have appeared in 15 World Cups, including the last six. They won their first title in 1998, beating Brazil 3-0 in the final on home soil, and repeated the feat in the last edition in Russia with a 4-2 final victory against Croatia.

How they qualified

France qualified top of Group D with five wins and three draws, two of them against second-placed Ukraine.

They finished their qualifying campaign with three consecutive victories, including an 8-0 demolition of Kazakhstan. They scored 18 goals and conceded three.

Form guideSince securing qualification for the finals in Qatar, France won two friendly games against Ivory Coast and South Africa but then struggled in the Nations League.

They salvaged their place in the top tier but ended a dismal campaign with a 2-0 defeat away to Denmark - their third in six matches, having won only one.

 Following is a statbox on Australia at the World Cup.

FIFA Ranking: 38 (Oct. 6)

Odds: 400-1

Previous tournaments:Australia made their debut in 1974 and have appeared in five World Cups in total, including the last four. Their best performance was 2006, when they lost to Italy in the last 16 courtesy of a controversial late penalty. In the last three World Cups they have failed to progress from the group stage and registered only one win, against Serbia in 2010.

How they qualified: Having romped through the second round of Asian qualifying, Australia were only able to finish third in their group in the third round. They beat the United Arab Emirates 2-1 to qualify for an intercontinental playoff against Peru. After a 0-0 draw, the Socceroos punched their ticket to Qatar 5-4 on penalties.

Form guide: Since securing qualification in June, Australia have played two matches, both against New Zealand. After an unconvincing 1-0 win in Melbourne, an experimental side recorded a more impressive 2-0 victory in Auckland.