A late strike from Paul Pogba and a VAR-assisted penalty from Antoine Griezmann helped France start their campaign with an unimpressive 2-1 win over Australia in Group of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
Griezmann’s penalty was a historic one, as it was the first spot-kick given by VAR in World Cup history.
One of the tournament favourites, the Les Bleus were far from being impressive at the Kazan Arena. Their star front troika of Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were largely kept at bay by the dogged Australian back-line.
#FRA WIN!
A tough match for @FrenchTeam, but they get their #WorldCup campaign off to a winning start. #FRAAUS pic.twitter.com/kX6HnWwMZC
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 16, 2018
The first half did not witness much, as neither of the two teams found its rhythm. It was only after the break that the game sparked into life.
A couple of minutes before the hour mark, 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 did not make any mistake from the spot, firing France to lead.
The lead, however, was short-lived. Just four minutes later, Mile Jedinak cancelled France’s opener from the spot after Samuel Umtiti handled in the area.
It looked like France would not harm their reputation for being slow starters. However, ten minutes before the regulation time, Pogba’s deflected effort helped them secure all three points.
As expected, France had ominously started the game, creating out three chances in the opening six minutes. First, Mbappe was denied from an acute angle by Mat Ryan before the latter denied Pogba and Griezmann in quick succession. Australia then came agonisingly close to taking the lead after 17 minutes against the run of play.
Aaron Mooy’s teasing free-kick from the left was diverted towards his own goal by Corentin Tolisso. However, Hugo Lloris managed to avoid the ball from getting into the net. France then failed to build on the early momentum, as Australia comfortably kept the European giants under check.
The action finally witnessed in the second half. Risdon had appeared to get away with his tackle on Griezmann.
But the referee pointed towards the spot after consultation with VAR. Australia soon bounced back to level the scoring. And just when it looked like the game would end in a stalemate, Pogba’s shot was cruelly diverted past Ryan by Aziz Behich.