France edge Socceroos 4-1 with history making Giroud

The defending champions France opened their Group D account with a beautiful 4-1 victory against Australia. France is aiming to become only the second team to win back-to-back World Cups after Brazil.

Australia got out to a fast start in the first 10 minutes, maybe seeking revenge for their 2-1 H2H loss at the same stage of the tournament in 2018. Craig Goodwin of Adelaide United scored the game's opening goal after Mathew Leckie's brilliant play on the right flank put him in the box. Goodwin struck the ball from close range into the roof of the net. Lucas Hernandez left the field due to injury which might be a blow to Didier Deschamps.

Midway through the first half, France finally got their footing after much probing, scoring two goals in the span of five minutes to completely turn the match around. Theo Hernández's cross was well-headed by Adrien Rabiot in the 27th minute, setting up Olivier Giroud's easy tap-in after a defensive blunder. After a prolonged French dominance, both teams threatened again as the game approached halftime. Kylian Mbappé bizarrely missed a clear shot on goal, while Jackson Irvine's superb header hit the left post at the opposite end.

As a result of an outstanding second half performance by the reigning world champions, a worn-out Australia gave up more than three goals for the first time in 40 games, ending Australia manager Graham Arnold's World Cup debut in defeat. The Socceroos will now try to get their first point against Tunisia, while a jubilant France will play Denmark right after.