World Cup 2018: 5 intriguing games from the group stage

#3: France vs. Australia – Group C – 16th June

Kylian Mbappe will be looking to open his World Cup account against Australia

France are coming into the tournament with a lot of hype behind them and quite rightfully so – in the form of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Nabil Fekir and Ousmane Dembele they have one of the most formidable attacking lines of any of the World Cup’s squads. Add in other top-class players in other areas – Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane, Thomas Lemar and Samuel Umtiti to name four – and it’s easy to see why they’re amongst the favourites.

Perhaps the biggest question mark around the hopes of Les Bleus this time hangs over manager Didier Deschamps – who captained France to their first World Cup victory in 1998. Known as a somewhat conservative manager, whether he’ll truly be able to unleash the awesome attacking power of his side is a bit of an unknown right now.

That’s why their opening game with Australia is so interesting. One of the weaker squads in the tournament, the Socceroos are big on heart but short on talent – their most outstanding player being Huddersfield’s Aaron Mooy. But boss Bert van Marwijk is renowned for putting together well-organised, tough-to-beat sides, and the Aussies lost just once in qualifying.

If France can set their stall early and tear Australia apart, then the rest of the field will sit up and take notice. But if they stutter – as they did at times at Euro 2016 – then anything is possible – including an upset for the Socceroos.