A late Paul Pogba goal and a VAR-assisted penalty from Antoine Griezmann helped France to a scarcely deserved 2-1 win over Australia.
Match Events
2' CHANCE! Mbappe's shot saved
5' CHANCE! Griezmann's shot saved
18' CLOSE! Lloris makes a great save
45' CHANCE! Behich's shot wide out
58' Penalty Goal! France 1-0 Australia (A. Griezmann)
PENALTY IS GIVEN! The defender slid in on Griezmann who darted through on goal. The referee initially said "no pen" but the VAR officials had a second look when the ball next when out of play. The referee came pitchside and had a look at his TV. It was deemed there was contact! Penalty given. Controversial.
SMASH! Super finish from Griezmann. France lead - but it's dripping in controversy.
62' Penalty Goal! France 1-1 Australia (M. Jedinak)
PENALTY TO AUSTRALIA! UNBELIEVABLE! A ball in from the right is inexplicably handled by Umtiti! What was he thinking.
Pressure? What pressure? The skipper confidently steps up and rolls a calm strike into the bottom corner. Perhaps justice for Australia after the VAR call arguably went against them! France back to square one!
72' 2 substitutions for France
80' GOAL! France 2-1 Australia (P. Pogba)
A ball breaks to Pogba about 20 yards out, in charges Behich who makes a fine tackle but the ball deflects back towards Ryan who is off his line.
The ball bounces off the underside of the crossbar and back into play. The referee looks at his watch...and goal-line technology confirms the ball had crossed the line.
MATCH REPORT
Antoine Griezmann scored the first penalty given by VAR in World Cup history as France edged past Australia 2-1 in their Group C opener.
France were a long way from their best at the Kazan Arena, with their heralded attacking trio of Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele failing to ignite against a dogged Australian outfit.
After a disjointed first half, the game sparked into life shortly after the interval as referee Andres Cunha awarded a penalty to France after consulting VAR and deciding that Josh Risdon had clipped Griezmann just inside the area.
The Atletico Madrid striker's fierce spot-kick was cancelled out just four minutes later by another penalty, Aston Villa midfielder Mile Jedinak slotting home after Samuel Umtiti handled in the area.
Didier Deschamps' side looked to be heading for a disappointing start to their campaign, but Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba saw his deflected effort bounce off the crossbar and narrowly over the line 10 minutes from time to secure all three points.
France will hope for a more fluid performance against Peru on Thursday, while Australia will look to get their campaign back on track when they face Denmark.
Line-ups
France XI: Hugo Lloris, Antoine Griezmann, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kanté, Corentin Tolisso, Lucas Hernández, Ousmane Dembélé, Benjamin Pavard, Kylian Mbappé
Subs: Blaise Matuidi, Steve Mandanda, Adil Rami, Steven N'Zonzi, Olivier Giroud, Djibril Sidibe, Alphonse Areola, Benjamin Mendy, Florian Thauvin, Nabil Fekir, Thomas Lemar, Presnel Kimpembe
Australia XI: Mark Milligan, Mile Jedinak, Robbie Kruse, Aziz Behich, Mathew Leckie, Aaron Mooy, Mat Ryan, Trent Sainsbury, Josh Risdon, Tomas Rogic, Andrew Nabbout
Subs: Tim Cahill, Brad Jones, James Meredith, Danny Vukovic, Matthew Jurman, Dimitri Petratos, Milos Degenek, Tomi Juric, Massimo Luongo, Jackson Irvine, Jamie Maclaren, Daniel Arzani
aqib_10_
265
this world cup is a tournament of late goals
aqib_10_
191
it has started
Rayhan-Rahim
157
But surely, France need Giroud, he gives the other forwards the needed space by holding two central defenders, it wasn't working for France until he came on, Griz as a false 9 doesn't work well, as a no 10 behind Giroud? Yeah, that works. They miss Payet in their creative department Good to see France winning but credit to Australia, they have worked very hard, there is no team to take for granted and that's the quality of the WC.
i_koda
131
True!😠😡😡 #VideoAssistantRefereeIsShit 😡 #MJJ
CR7team
110
And now, Australia would only wish, 'had Cristiano Ronaldo been there in the match' We won't have to go like this...
CallMeFib3r
80
Umtiti is the new Boateng now 😂🤣😂🇫🇷🇦🇺
LordPain
73
Great game, Aussies 🇦🇺 tried their best.. had so many chances and great defending as well. The VAR penalty was debatable. I think it wasn't a penalty. Anyways great game of football to watch! Especially loved the Aussie fans in the crowd...
MaysVv
66
When u love basketball, but parents insist u to play football.. #FRAAUS
bempr
47
They couldn't beat the U.S. a team of mostly teenagers...how are they going to beat teams that actually qualified? France escaped with a victory,they didn't earn it. Mbappe is a fantastic player on mediocre and average team. They don't have a real chance this go round.
raheem_CFC
44
they should've put umtiti in the goal to save the penalty as well 😂😂
yakcha
24
I expected more from France. but with this performance, I don't see France going far ahead. Descamp should probably start Matuidi over Tolliso. And Mbappe is doing nothing the whole match.. C'Mon France... You can do much better.. But hats off to Australia, you performed so well. Despite being an underdog.