France and Australia will face off in a David vs. Goliath matchup to start their respective World Cup runs.
France is coming into the tournament with a powerhouse lineup featuring the likes of Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) and Paul Pogba (Manchester United) and looks to be one of the favorites going in. Australia is on the opposite end as a longshot in the competition but qualified after a hat-trick from Mile Jedinak in a win over Honduras.
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The two teams will join Denmark and Peru in Group C. France is seen by many as one of the top Cup contenders so Australia will have its work cut out for itself but could deliver a strong statement with an upset win to kick off the competition.
World Cup schedule: France vs. Australia
When: Saturday, June 16, 6:00 a.m. ET
Where: Kazan, Russia, Kazan Arena
MORE: Full World Cup schedule
France vs. Australia TV channel, live stream
In the U.S., France vs. Australia will be broadcast live on FS1. It can also be live-streamed on fuboTV (7-day free trial).
France Roster
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Alphonse Areola
Defenders: Djibril Sidibe, Benjamin Pavard, Adil Rami, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Presnel Kimpembe, Benjamin Mendy, Lucas Hernandez
Midfielders: Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi, Corentin Tolisso, N'Golo Kante, Steven Nzonzi
Forwards: Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Florian Thauvin, Thomas Lemar, Nabil Fekir
Australia Roster
Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan, Danny Vukovic, Brad Jones
Defenders: Trent Sainsbury, Milos Degenek, Matt Jurman, Mark Milligan, Josh Risdon, Aziz Behich, James Meredith
Midfielders: Mile Jedinak (captain), Aaron Mooy, Massimo Luongo, Jackson Irvine, Tomi Rogic, Dimitri Petratos, Mathew Leckie, Daniel Arzani
Forwards: Tim Cahill, Tomi Juric, Andrew Nabbout, Jamie Maclaren, Robbie Kruse
France vs. Australia facts
- The record between France and Australia on neutral ground is perfectly balanced with a 1-0 win each (for France in Japan in May 1994 and for Australia in South Korea in June 2001). Their last encounter ended in a 6-0 win for Les Bleus in Paris, including a brace by Olivier Giroud.
- France have qualified for their 15th World Cup. It’s their sixth appearance in a row, their longest ever run.
- France have topped their group only twice in their last nine World Cup appearances (1998, 2014). In fact, they’ve won only three of their last 12 group games (D5 L4), it came against Togo, Honduras and Switzerland.
- France have only won one of their last four opening World Cup games (D2 L1) beating Honduras in 2014 (3-0).
- France’s last 23 goals in the competition have been scored from inside the box, the last goal from distance came from Lilian Thuram in the 1998 semifinal against Croatia.
- Australia have qualified for their fifth World Cup, their fourth in a row. They had only made one appearance prior to the 21st century in 1974 when they finished in the bottom of their group and didn’t score a single goal.
- Australia have reached the knockout stages of the World Cup on one occasion, it was in 2006 when they were eliminated in the Last 16 by eventual winners Italy.
- In fact, Australia have won only two of their 13 games at the World Cup, against Japan in 2006 (3-1) and Serbia in 2010 (2-1), and kept only one clean sheet (0-0 vs. Chile in 1974).
- Tim Cahill has scored five of Australia’s 11 goals at the World Cup (45%). He’s one of nine players to have scored in each of the last three World Cups.
- This is Didier Deschamps’ third consecutive major tournament as France manager after reaching the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals and the 2016 Euro final (beaten by Portugal after extra time). He captained France as they won the World Cup on home soil in 1998, playing in six of his team’s seven games.
- Ange Postecoglou led Australia to their fifth World Cup campaign but he resigned from his post a week after the playoff win against Honduras. He was replaced by Bert van Marwijk in January 2018. He will lead the Socceroos at the tournament after guiding Saudi Arabia to qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals.