France 2-1 Australia: Paul Pogba winner secures three points for Les Bleus despite lacklustre performance and VAR controversy
Manchester United’s midfielder won the day for Didier Deschamps’ side
France claimed victory in the opening game of their 2018 World Cup campaign against Australia despite an underwhelming performance and controversy emerging from a VAR-awarded penalty in their favour.
After a tight first half, Antoine Griezmann smashed the favourites in front from the spot, only for Mile Jedinak to equalise with a penalty of his own just four minutes later.
With ten minutes remaining, a deflected Paul Pogba shot won the day for Les Bleus and broke the hearts of the Socceroos.
France started the brighter of the two teams, producing three shots in first six minutes as they attempted to set the tone for a one-sided fixture.
Much to the dismay of Didier Deschamps, his side’s tempo soon slowed as the Aussie defence frustrated France’s world class attackers.
The Socceroos’ pairing of Mark Milligan and Trent Sainsbury put in an immense shift to neutralise their opposition and keep the game under control as they headed into the break.
13 minutes into the second half, France found a rare patch of space and N’Golo Kante played in Griezmann, who was brought down by what seemed like a stunning defensive tackle from right-back Josh Risdon. The referee, Andres Cunha, waved play on.
However, when the ball next went out of play, this was reviewed by VAR. After walking over to re-watch the incident on a screen himself, Cunha reversed his decision and signalled for a penalty.
Griezmann smashed the ball past a static Matt Ryan from 12 yards to give France the lead.
Four minutes later though, Australia had a penalty of their own.
Samuel Umtiti bizarrely conceded the spot kick when he recklessly flailed his arms in the air as the ball was played in from a set piece.
Mile Jedinak calmly slotted away the leveller, but it wouldn’t be enough to secure the Aussies a share of the spoils.
With ten minutes remaining, a swift move from France resulted in a Paul Pogba shot which cruelly deflected off Aziz Behich. The ball bounced down off the underside crossbar and landed less than an inch over the line.
While it was heartbreak for the Australians, they can still be proud of what was a valiant effort against one of the pre-tournament favourites.
World Cup News
STAR MAN – Mark Milligan
Despite ultimately emerging victorious, nobody from the France XI ultimately covered themselves in glory during their tournament opener. Milligan and Sainsbury were by far the best players on the pitch as they ran Australia's disciplined defensive display for the majority of the match. Milligan probably imposed himself slightly more than his partner, though both were excellent.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Rightly or wrongly, the moment of the match has to be France’s opening goal. VAR got its first serious outing at the World Cup and debate will continue as to whether it resulted in a correct decision or not. Australia looked comfortable at 0-0 up to this point, but the referee's reversed decision changed the game.
LINE-UPS
France: Lloris, Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas, Tolisso (Matuidi 78), Kante, Pogba, Dembele (Fekir 70), Mbappe, Griezmann (Giroud 70)
Australia: Ryan, Risdon, Milligan, Sainsbury, Behich, Leckie, Jedinak, Rogic (Irvine 72), Mooy, Kruse (Arzani 84), Nabbout (Juric 64)
TABLE
