After four years as reigning world champions, France will set out to defend their crown in Qatar, with their World Cup campaign starting against Australia on Tuesday.
It hasn’t been all smooth-sailing for Didier Deschamps’ side since their triumph in Russia back in 2018, with Les Bleus being dumped out of last year’s Euros by Switzerland, and flattering to deceive in the Nations League.
With Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Christopher Nkunku missing the tournament through injury, the France manager will not be at full strength in the Middle East.
That could open the door for Australia, who scraped into the competition thanks to penalty shootout heroics from Andrew Redmayne against Peru in their crunch qualifier over the summer.
Graham Arnold isn’t blessed with the strongest Socceroos squad, compared to glorious years gone by, but will hope that the battling Australian spirit will result in a magical run this year.
So, with the clash quickly approaching, Sportsmail takes you through everything you need to know below about the opening game of the 2022 World Cup.
Sportsmail takes you through everything you need to know about France vs Australia
When is France vs Australia?
France begin their World Cup campaign on Tuesday 22 November, although for fans Down Under, the game will kick off in the early hours of Wednesday 23 November.
Date: Tuesday 22 November
Time: 7pm (UK), 2pm (US) and 6am on Wednesday (Australian Eastern Time)
How to watch the match
The game between France and Australia will be aired live on BBC for UK viewers. If you are looking to stream the game, you can head to BBC iPlayer of the BBC Sport website.
The game will be free to watch for all UK viewers with a TV Licence. Meanwhile, US viewers can watch the game on Fox Sports 1 in English and Telemundo in Spanish.
The reigning world champions kick off their World Cup campaign against the Socceroos
Australian viewers can tune into the game via SBS, who will be televising every match during the 2022 World Cup. SBS On Demand will also stream the France vs Australia fixture for those on the move.
UK: BBC and BBC iPlayer
US: Fox Sports 1 and Telemundo
AUS: SBS and SBS On Demand
Where is France v Australia being played?
France’s fixture against Australia will take place at the Al Janoub Stadium – which is located in Al-Wakrah, 17km south of Doha.
The Al Janoub Stadium was designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and has a capacity of 40,000, including a retractable roof.
The stadium will host games from Groups D, G and H, as well as one Round of 16 clash.
Location: Al-Wakrah, Qatar
Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
The state-of-the-art Al Janoub stadium will play host to the Group D match on Tuesday
France vs Australia: Team news
As mentioned earlier, Christopher Nkunku was forced to drop out of the squad due to an injury picked up in training. Randal Kolo Munai has replaced him.
Karim Benzema was ruled out of the tournament on Sunday, in a huge blow to France’s chances. Didier Deschamps has opted against calling up a replacement for the veteran striker, who has being plagued by an injury at Real Madrid this season and pulled up 15 minutes into a pre-tournament training session.
The Socceroos, meanwhile, have a late injury headache of their own with Martin Boyle replaced in the squad by Marco Tilio after suffering a knee injury. Kye Rowles, however, has recovered from an injury picked up earlier in the club campaign.
France squad
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris, Alphonse Areola, Steve Mandanda
Defenders: Benjamin Pavard, Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Theo Hernandez, Lucas Hernandez, Benoit Badiashile, Ferland Mendy, Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konate, William Saliba
France are without key men Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante but still boast a very strong squad
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga, Youssouf Fofana, Matteo Guendouzi, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, Jordan Veretout
Forwards: Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani, Kingsley Coman
Australia squad
Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan, Andrew Redmayne, Danny Vukovic
Defenders: Milos Degenek, Fran Karacic, Nathaniel Atkinson, Bailey Wright, Aziz Behich, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Joel King, Thomas Deng
Midfielders: Ajdin Hrustic, Aaron Mooy, Riley McGree, Jackson Irvine, Keanu Baccus, Cameron Devlin
Forwards: Marco Tilio, Mathew Leckie, Jamie Maclaren, Awer Mabil, Mitchell Duke, Craig Goodwin, Jason Cummings, Garang Kuol
Head-to-head record
Those with good memories will remember that France beat Australia on their way to World Cup glory in Russia four years ago, with Antoine Griezmann and Aziz Behich netting for Les Bleus.
These two nations last met at the 2018 World Cup where Antoine Griezmann scored the winner
They have met on two other occasions, with France winning comfortably in 2013 as well as playing out a draw in 2001.
2001: France 1-1 Australia
2013: France 6-0 Australia
2018: France 2-1 Australia
Group D fixtures
- Denmark vs Tunisia: Tuesday 22 November
- France vs Australia: Tuesday 22 November
- Tunisia vs Australia: Saturday 26 November
- France vs Denmark: Saturday 26 November
- Tunisia vs France: Wednesday 30 November
- Australia vs Denmark: Wednesday 30 November
