13:38
Up next for Australia is an encounter with Denmark they cannot afford to lose. For France it’s Peru and another opportunity to find cohesion. For me, it’s time to bid you all farewell. Thank you for your company, catch you next time.
But this is a new era in a sport so long resistant to change, and at the next stoppage of play, Cunha, who had been alerted to a possible error via an earpiece linked to a video assistant tracking the match in Moscow, paused the match for a review. Jogging to the sideline, he peered into a video monitor to watch a replay of his decision on the Griezmann incident.
Moments later, he returned to the field, blew his whistle and — to the Australians’ dismay this time — awarded a penalty kick. Griezmann coolly converted it with a curling left-footed shot, giving the French a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute.
The repercussions of the World Cup’s first V.A.R. decision had been immediate — the whole review, from whistle to second look to whistle, took less than two minutes — but that the new system appeared to work as designed does not mean it will put an end to postmatch debates.
Australia Coach Bert van Marwijk was adamant that a penalty should not have been awarded. Several of his players also expressed skepticism.
“Personally, I don’t think I’m a fan of it, to be honest,” Mathew Ryan, the Australian goalkeeper, said of V.A.R. “Us, as players, if we make a mistake on the pitch, we don’t get to stop the play and rewind it to correct it or whatnot. The officials do now, and obviously it was brought in to avoid calamitous errors and those sorts of things, and obviously there’s a bit of a gray area to what the referee decides and on it being conclusive.
“Now I’ve got to question what the definition of conclusive is. Because I don’t think the penalty decision was conclusive enough to overturn.”
France’s coach, Didier Deschamps, was understandably more sanguine.
“I am not going to complain with the use of video today because it was in our favor, obviously,” he said. “In our friendlies, we’ve already had situations when it was not in our favor. This is the way it is. We’ve been warned that in some situations, V.A.R. can be used.”
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Whatever the gray areas, France’s lead did not last long: Less than four minutes later, Samuel Umtiti, their sturdy central defender, inadvertently touched an Australian cross with his extended right hand.
After a slight delay — just long enough for observers to wonder if Cunha had heard from Moscow about the handball, which was clear but difficult to discern as it barely affected the ball’s trajectory — he awarded another penalty. This time, he did not bother to make a trip to the sideline. Under FIFA’s rules, the on-field referee has the final word on all V.A.R. reviews, but also has the option of simply accepting the word of the V.A.R. official, who has immediate access to television replays. It was unclear, however, if that happened in this case.
The Australia captain, Mile Jedinak, who was impossible to miss on the field with his long salt-and-pepper beard, did not waste the opportunity, converting the penalty with a fast-rolling shot as goalkeeper Hugo Lloris dived to his right.
The 3-minute-7-second gap between the goals was the shortest period between two penalties scored by opposing teams in a World Cup match.
The score then remained tied as the game moved deep into the second half. Few would have thought that would be the case, since France has a lineup brimming with young stars and is considered one of the favorites in Russia. Meanwhile, Australia, whose players generally earn their livings in less floodlit leagues, was widely considered a soft opening opponent.
But after allowing three dangerous shots on goal in the first six minutes of the game, Australia tightened its back line and slowed the pace.
“You look at the strike force they possess and with nearly all of their players playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world and at the highest level, and our defense really limited their opportunities to pretty much nothing,” Ryan said.
But individual quality ultimately made the difference. Paul Pogba, the Manchester United midfielder, created the winning goal in the 81st minute, slashing through the heart of the Australian defense with two deft passing combinations: the first with Mbappé, the second with Olivier Giroud, a second-half substitute.
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Controlling the final pass from Giroud, Pogba flicked a right-footed shot that deflected off defender Aziz Behich, soared over the lunging Ryan and ricocheted off the bottom of the crossbar and down toward the goal line.
This time, the technology that applied was not new. Goal-line technology was introduced at the last World Cup, in Brazil, in 2014, and it notified Cunha — through a watch on his wrist — that the ball had completely crossed the line.
It was a reaffirming moment for Pogba, who has struggled to live up to his then-world-record transfer fee at Manchester United, and whose starting spot with France was still in question until a strong performance in its final friendly match: a 1-1 draw with the United States last week in Lyon.
“The criticisms are always there,” Pogba said. “When I played when I was a boy, my buddies and I used to tease each other: ‘You’re bad. You’re good. You’re not.’ We never really paid attention to this. It was always the game and what happened on the field that spoke the loudest. So now it’s a bit like those days for me. Today, the most important thing is the result, and if I can help the team, I’m very proud.”
Even so, it was not a reassuring day for France, even with three points and the early edge in Group C. The starting lineup Deschamps used Saturday had an average age of 24 years 6 months. The only starter who was not born in the 1990s was the goalkeeper, Lloris, who is 31.
“It’s not youth that caused it,” Deschamps said of his team’s stuttering attack. “If you don’t count today, in the last four World Cups, only once has France won its opening match. I’m not going to say Australia is a European power, but it’s not what some people think, that they don’t possess quality.
“Look at Uruguay against Egypt. Except for Russia, which had an easy first match, it’s complicated. It’s the World Cup. But we need to do better. We are capable of doing better, and we should do better.”
The next chance comes against Peru on June 21 in Yekaterinburg. And it will be intriguing to see if Deschamps chooses to stay with the youngest lineup France has used in a World Cup opener since 1930, the year the World Cup began.
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So much has changed since then, as Cunha made abundantly clear on Saturday.
“Even with the video, there will be interpretations,” Deschamps said. “There will be some who will agree, some who will not. It’s the referee who decides.”
■ Here’s how it happened:
Full Time: France 2, Australia 1
A good fight, but France had just enough quality, and just enough lucky bounces, to prevail. They’ll be pleased. Australia will have lots to feel good about — everything, that is, except the score line.
90’ + 1 Five More Minutes
Five minutes of added time for Australia to try to pull a rabbit out of its hat.
90’ I’ll Have Whatever Kanté Is Having
Ninety minutes in and he’s fresh as a daisy, spinning away from two Australians on the sideline, then dribbling around a third. The motor on him must be one of the world’s great renewable energy sources.
85’ Tech Is Also Winning Today
Like it or not, this game may be an advertisement for V.A.R. and goal-line technology, two innovations added — amid much furor — to help officials in the last two World Cup cycles. V.A.R. confirmed the first penalty, seemed to be behind the delayed call that awarded the second, and goal-line technology just gave Pogba the third.
The goal of each innovation was to get calls right, and in each case today, that appears to be what happened.
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81’ GOAL for France!
Pogba! He works a neat give and go with Giroud at the top of the box, and send a shot off a defender’s foot and the crossbar behind a wrong-footed Ryan.
This time it’s goal-line technology that comes into play. The referee’s watch buzzes, the whistle blows, and Pogba’s hands go from out wide — “Whaaaaa?’ — to upraised.
France leads again, by 2-1. Let’s see if they take better care of the edge this time.
76’ Yellow for Tolisso
Tolisso cynically breaks up an Australian counter with a shot to Juric’s ankle. That’s a professional foul, professionally done.
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70’ Giroud and Fekir for Griezmann and Dembélé
A change up front for Deschamps, and good news for me, too, as I lose to accents with 20 minutes to go.
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Giroud, by the way, has his head taped like he had to put down his fife and drum to come on. He immediately strides to the center of the Australia penalty area and waits for service. Maybe the French trainers should have painted a big ‘X’ on the front of that tape headband.
69’ Umtiti Tries One
Umtiti, figuring what the heck after his blunder, unleashes a shot from 30 yards directly into an Australian backside. The ricochet makes it almost to midfield.
67’ Danger at the Back
A loose ball in Australia’s end puts Ryan under pressure from a racing Mbappé, but he wins the short sprint and clears. He’ll be asking for a little more care next time, thankyouverymuch.
64’ First Sub: Juric for Nabbout
Australia is the first to go to the bench. Juric is a regular for Australia, and while Nabbout worked hard, it’s hard to remember his best moment.
62’ Jedinak — GOAL! Australia!
Cool as a cucumber, Australia’s captain rolls the ball behind a diving Lloris and it’s 1-1. Simplest finish by a man with a six-inch beard in this year’s World Cup.
What could Umtiti have been thinking there??!?! He jumped for a ball well over his head and left his fist up long enough to touch it. Stunning bit of brain lock, but no Australian on earth is complaining.
61’ Another Penalty — For Australia This Time!
Umtiti has handled the ball while jumping for a free kick he was never going to reach. What a mistake.
59’ Blood in the Water
Revived by the goal, France surges forward again. But the flub the attack and it peters out in a weak shot But they definitely feel like they were owed that lead, and now they have it.
58’ GOAL! France!
No doubt from Griezmann, who takes one step and buries the penalty in the right-side netting past a flat-footed Ryan.
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56’ Upon Further Review: PENALTY!
V.A.R. did its job there; Risdon clearly clipped Griezmann’s trailing heel on the slide tackle, and that’s what brought him down. He gets a yellow, and Griezmann steps to the spot.
54’ Penalty? No Penalty
Pogba finally arrives, threading a gorgeous through ball into the path of Griezmann down the left. It looked like he was scythed down by Risdon, but the referee waves away the penalty shout.
But wait: he’s gone to look after the next whistle. Big test for V.A.R.
51’ Dembélé Drives In
Dembélé cuts in from the right and find a man on the left. But his pass, like so many French ones today, lacks just enough quality to perform its intended task.
48’ Hernandez Down in a Heap
He’s holding his fans and patting the turf, but the blow seemed only a glancing one, and the referee seems pretty confident in his opinion that the challenge that dropped him was a nothingburger.
46’ Back at It
No changes for either team to start the second half. Keep an eye on Pogba for the first 15 minutes or so. He’ll need to be better, and more involved, than he was in the first half.
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Halftime: All Square
Australia will be happy with how that went, France not so much. Oddly, the best chance of the half went to the Socceroos, but one gets the sense that France has the talent to sort this out an pry open the defense as Australia tires in the second half. They just can’t expect to walk the ball into the net the way Australia is standing shoulder to shoulder in the center.
Worst case, Deschamps can just throw on Olivier Giroud, lob some balls in the box, and see what he can do. For some reason, he always seems to get his head on one or two.
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Van Marwijk, for one, would just prefer to see more of the same.
“Not always the best players win prizes,” he said Friday. “A lot of times, it’s the best team. We would like to be the best team.”
Chris Clarey: I feel like I’m in Australia. The French fans, who are surely a shorter flight away, are getting outshouted by a lot. But the French midfield is not exactly making us forget Platini and Zidane, either. The front three of Griezmann, Mbappé and Dembélé looks fluid and dangerous, however. Given a chance, they can make something happen very quickly.
44’ Tight Defense, Tight Game
Australia has settled into a very narrow set of two lines of four, and they’re breaking up any attempt to go through — or over — their back line. France would do well to stretch the field, both now and in the second half. Width favors them, and it might just crack open the Socceroos’ bank vault of a defense.
41’ Frustration From France
France clearly believes it should be ahead by now, and that’s probably true. But Deschamps keeps waving his arms over calls, Mbappé’s done a bit of grumbling to the referee and Australia just keeps running around breaking things up. Still scoreless.
31’ Griezmann Gets Behind
Griezmann latches on to a looping feed in the area with his toe, but Australia scrambles back to cover.
26’ Sweet Spin by Mbappé
He turns through two defenders but lets the ball get away. But definitely looked like a hundred-million-dollar player there.
23’ No Harm, No Foul on Dembélé
Dembélé takes a tumble cutting from the left, and both he and Deschamps find it incroyable that there was no foul there. Australia has definitely found its footing a little after that last scoring chance, but they’re definitely as physical as you’d think a plausibly overmatched, Bert van Marwijk-coached team would be.
17’ Australia Goes Close!
Against all momentum, it’s Australia that nearly scores first: a cross, a header, a stray French foot. But Lloris dives to his left to parry it away in front of Sainsburg, who was there to pounce on any mistake. That would have really been something.
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13’ Australia’s Leckie Gets a Yellow
Mooy swings in a hard-diving cross, but France clears. And back we go. Leckie is a step late on Lucas, and he picks up the game’s first yellow.
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And sets up another France free kick. Its cleared, but only for a corner.
11’ Australia Settled a Little
Australia gets a small stretch of possession, soothing Aussie nerves a bit, but every loose touch leads to a turnover, and to France charging back at them again. Now they’ve won a free kick out on the left, and it’s France who will have to defend it.
6’ Griezmann Now ...
Another chance for France, as Griezmann gets a look up high, but Ryan is there again. Two minutes later he gets a header on a free kick. Ryan is there to catch it on the bounce.
Sensing a theme yet?
5’ Pogba’s First Chance
A foul on Mbappé sets up a Pogba free kick from 25 yards or so out top. His shot clears the wall, but hits Ryan right in the mitts.
3’ Danger From Mbappé
Australia’s first scare comes in the form of Mbappé breaking down the right and firing a shot from a tight angle that Ryan does well to push around the post. The Socceroos will want to limit looks like that.
Kickoff in Kazan
Here we go. Australia in head-to-toe yellow, France in blue tops with white shorts. Enjoy.
Bold Move From Deschamps?
More from Chris in Kazan:
Bold move from Didier Deschamps to embrace the youth movement to this degree. Among those on the bench for France’s first World Cup game are :
• Olivier Giroud, 31, who is the current team’s leading scorer and tied with Zinedine Zidane for fourth on France’s all-time list with 31 goals.
• Blaise Matuidi, 31, one of their key figures in midfield in the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Euros.
• Benjamin Mendy, 23, the Manchester City wing back widely considered one of the best in the world at his position.
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A Full Day Ahead
France-Australia is the first of four games today. The matches kick off three hours apart, so make sure you hydrate and eat between in the brief windows between them, because you’ll probably want to at least sample them all. Rory Smith of The Times is at the next one (Argentina-Iceland in Moscow, 9 a.m. ET). Then Tariq Panja will check in from Peru-Denmark in Saransk (noon, ET). The nightcap could be the best of the bunch: Nigeria-Croatia in Kaliningrad (3 p.m. ET).
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Chris Clarey: Big turnout here in Kazan from the Aussie fans, most of whom have come a long way. A small sea of green and gold fills up several blocks of seats in the lower tier of this charming stadium.
Mbappé Starts at Age 19
Kylian Mbappé, by the way, becomes the youngest player to represent France at the World Cup, at 19 years and 178 days. He’s a long way from Bondy.
From Chris Clarey in Kazan: The French team that will start against Australia — at an average of 24 years 6 months — is, according to the French newspaper L’Equipe, the youngest French team to start a World Cup since the 1930 edition, which was the first.
In World Cups past this was a game France would have lost. But in the era of video assistant referees and goal-line technology, the latest innovations twice came to their assistance – first awarding them a penalty, then spotting their winning shot had crossed the line.
It added up to a very 21st-century victory. And never mind the man of the match, in Paris already the process must be under way to award the video ref the Legion d’Honneur.
“I’m not going to complain about VAR today because it was in our favour, obviously,” said the France manager, Didier Deschamps. “The referee did not see that there was a foul, he was able to correct his mistake. That is a good thing.”
A good thing maybe. But how France needed the technological assistance. What heavy weather their much-vaunted team made of victory. Up against an Australian side superbly organised by Huddersfield’s Aaron Mooy, how they struggled to find anything close to the sort of control their talent should be capable of seizing.
“There were a lot of moments the players of France didn’t know what to do with themselves against us and that is a compliment nobody expected,” said the Australia coach, Bert van Marwijk. And he wasn’t wrong. Last seen in the World Cup as manager of a Holland side that besmirched the 2010 final with their chest-high tackling, Van Marwijk may have ushered out the era of Total Football but he knows how to organise a defence. How he must have thrilled to see the gold Australia shirts forming two solid lines in front of their goalkeeper, Brighton’s Matt Ryan.
#FRAAUS // FORMATIONS 👇👇👇 https://t.co/nplvg8wEuh — FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) 1529140865000
France open their World Cup campaign with 2-1 victory over Australia in the opening Group C match at Kazan Arena.Five minutes of stoppage time addedRight footed shot from Pogba from the centre of the box drops just behind the line off the crossbar. France 2-1 Australia.Corentin Tolisso becomes the French player to be shown the yellow card after he downs Juric in the midfield.Second substitution for Australia. Rogic is off the field, Irvine joins in the middle.After scoring for France, Griezmann makes way for Giroud while Fekir comes in place of Dembele.Australia make the first substitution of the match. Tomi Juric replaces Andrew Nabbout.Jedinak draws level for Australia as he converts the penalty.Referee again consults VAR and Australia get the penalty.Griezmann converts the penalty to give France 1-0 lead over Australia.France awarded penalty kick after referee uses the VAR for the first time in the World Cup.Hernandez gets injured after colliding with Leckie in the air.France's Lucas Hernandez wins a free kick early in the second half.Second half gets underway. Both teams retain the same eleven.France were held 0-0 at half-time by Australia in their World Cup Group C opener as their expected domination failed to materialise at the Kazan Arena on Saturday.One minute of injury time addedGriezmann makes a good run off the back and takes Dembele's cross from the right flank but Sainsbury is quick enough to stop the ball.Five minutes remaining in the first half with both teams looking to break the deadlock.Antoine Griezmann of France makes a foul.Australian defence come to the rescue once again . Lucas Hernandez hits a left footed shot from the left side of the box but misses it.Mooy takes a free kick and France keeper Lloris easily grabs it to keep the scoreline 0-0.Australia get a free kick after Pogba makes a foul.Demebele is on the attack from the left flank single-handedly but Aussie player manages to stop him.Australia miss a golden opportunity after being awarded a free kick. Aaron Mooy's free kick takes slight deflections off teammate Leckie and France's Corentin Tolisso, forcing Hugo Lloris to tip the ball away.Australia's Mathew Leckie gets a yellow card for a bad foul.Australia had their first chance at the goal, but Leckie fails to open the account as his header goes high over the post.Another free kick for France, Mbappe takes it, but Australian keeper Ryan comfortably saves it to deny France an early lead.Ryan makes another good save, dives low to his left, and denies a shot from the edge of the box by GriezmannFrance get a free kick, Pogba takes it and goes straight to the Aussie goalkeeper's hands.France off to a great start, control the possession early in the game. Mbappe attacks from the left flank, hits it towards the post.Group C opener between France and Australia gets underway at Kazan Arena.Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Group C opening match of the FIFA 2018 World Cup between 1998 Champions France and Australia.Kick-off time is 15:30 IST.
