On a day results didn’t favour the big teams at the Mundial, Saudi Arabia had defeated Argentina, 2-1, Denmark was held by Tunisia, Poland, Mexico settled for a 0-0 draw, but France changed the direction of the game by spanking Australia 4-1 to end match day three at the Mundial.
Goals from Adrien Rabiot and Olivier Giroud put France ahead before half-time and the quality told in the second half with Kylian Mbappe emerging as the star of the show. He scored the third and then set up Giroud for the fourth with a magnificent cross.
That goal moved the 36-year-old Giroud level with Thierry Henry as France’s all-time record scorer with 51 goals for the men’s national team. It is a record the magnificent Mbappe will surely break one day.
Why we lost to France – Australia head coach Graham Arnold
“I think at the end of the day, the quality of the French team [was the reason for the win]. They are the previous champions for a reason. We started very well. Physically they were so much bigger, faster and stronger than us today. Overall, the boys did everything they could and that is all I can ask.
“We have built the belief and the energy and the focus in the last week since we have been in camp. The way we started, we believed. That is what we trained on – that type of goal. But we were punished by our mistakes. Their crosses were bang on target. That game is gone. It is good that the other result was a draw. Now it is about winning on Saturday. We have to get ready for it.”
meanwhile, Lucas Hernandez was injured in the build-up to that Australia goal, adding to the list of France casualties that might have created a sense of events conspiring against them. But his replacement, brother Theo, assisted Rabiot’s equaliser and they did not look back.