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It's day 3 of the World Cup and things are starting to heat up. If at all you were not excited about the World Cup so far, last night's match between Portugal and Spain should have changed everything.
From the most electrifying match to one of the most electrifying teams in the competition this time – France. The 1998 champions take on Australia in their first World Cup game. The other Group C contenders, Peru and Denmark face each other later in the day.
World Cup 2018 | France vs Australia | Live Commentary
France are touted as one of the favourites to win the title this year and a glance at the 23-man squad is enough to show why. From defence to attack, it is a star-studded lineup and they have gelled well in the qualifiers and warm-up games.
Team news
Kylian Mbappe was the major injury concern for France ahead of their first game. He picked up an ankle injury in training after a coming together with Adil Rami.
The rumours suggested that the on-loan PSG star had picked up a serious injury but thankfully, that was not the case. He was back in training the next day and is fully fit for the World Cup opener.
Apart from him, there are no other injury concerns for France and they have everyone in best shape. Even Benjamin Mendy is fully fit right now – he had missed most of the 2017/18 season with an ACL injury.
France XI and Formation
Pavard and Lucas Hernandez are expected to get the nod ahead of Sidibe and Mendy while Lloris is sure to continue in goal. The front three of Mbappe-Griezmann-Dembele are also set to remain untouched as they have been brilliant.
The big change, however, is the selection of Tolisso ahead of Matuidi. The Bayern Munich star has earned his place and Didier Deschamps has shown confidence in him.
Umtiti and Varane are bound to start in the heart of the defence while Kante and Pogba will be instrumental, as always, in the midfield.
