3 things that went wrong for Australia against France

Modified Jun 16, 2018 13:32 GMT

Australia might not have won the game but they surely won the hearts — Australia might not have won the game but they surely won hearts of neutrals

#1 VAR and lady luck

VAR debuts in Russia, thanks to referee Andres Cunha

If you're an underdog in world football, there are two things that need to be in your favour if you are to do the unthinkable on the biggest stage of them all. The first being work ethic and the other being the element of luck, which eluded Australia on the afternoon despite showing no compromise from the word go.

Be it the referee's retrospective decision to award France's penalty, having consulted the video assistant referee (VAR) for the first time in a World Cup game, in the wake of Josh Risdon's challenge on Antoine Griezmann - or Paul Pogba's 80th-minute winner which cannoned in off the crossbar with a wicked deflection.

It's clear to see that both VAR and lady luck handed no favours whatsoever to the Socceroos who were narrowly close to making the headlines with a surprise result to kick off the World Cup in style.