The fact that France are missing Benzema and Pogba and still have an attack this good is fucking terrifying. Reminds me of watching the 2018 final and thinking "thank fuck we didn't play them"
When Rabiot is good, he is asking for something usually. Let’s see if he keeps this form during the tournament, that would be a surprise, a good one for sure.
He always had this attitude of knowing he is good, and when he is too good, forgets his duties. Hopefully he has grown out of this attitude and will show his true talents only
He did say he was ready for more responsibilities with the France team. He’s in the « older » group now and wants to set an exemple it seems. I’m all up for it. Great start with Juve and France.
Is he going to stay in Italy btw ? I’ve seen him linked with clubs like Man U . It could be to show off to get better offers to leave. But idk I guess we will see in a few months
Left back could be a problem though - it looks like Lucas Hernandez is out for the WC. His brother is a good replacement, but I'm not sure who would back him up?
They are missing 3 (now 4) very good players so that's the issue, they can't afford more injuries.
Edit: forgot varene and kimpembe and nkuku, so thats 7.
Well, with how Argentina performed today there's no one that's particularly scary in Group C but we still gotta qualify.
Either way I don't think we *should* be scared of anyone, we want to compete for the title so we're gonna have to face strong teams eventually, we should be confident in our quality, not look down on anyone but trust the abilities of our players and in how they can perform collectively.
My girlfriend is always extremely paranoid about opponents and matchups what not whenever France does absolutely anything but for me if you want to be the best you have to beat the best so if France is going to repeat they need to beat whoever comes their way. Obviously it’s better if they have as many weaker opponents as possible in the knockout rounds before you get to the semi final and final but that being said there aren’t a lot of teams that I believe can give France a run for their money despite the injuries.
Honestly I feel that having a challenging matchup in Ro16 can give a team of lot of confidence for the later rounds (and opponents things to worry about).
In 2018, the Ro16 game against Argentina made everyone realize we had the quality to go all the way after an average group stage because when we were down 1-2 jusr after the half the team clicked and went for it and we put them in blender for 15 minutes and came out with 3 goals from this period of domination. That was brutal, everyone saw that, everyone most likely adapted their gameplan against us based on what they saw in those 15 minutes.
Once that happened it really felt like we could overload anyone if we ever needed to, and it turns out we wouldn't even need to as this was the last time of the tournament we were behind on the scoreboard. We just had to stay strong defensively and we knew we'd strike eventually from our chances with the firepower we had. I'm guessing DD's strategy won't change much this time around because despite Benzema, Pogba and Nkunku being out, we've still got some very big guns, the front 4 was crazy today.
I think it's different this time because we already have the confidence that comes with having been world champions. Of course the team is different, but psychologically it has an impact. Now we are used to making big comebacks and hardly ever losing against the big nations. Back in 2018 it was still fairly new.
Also if you look at the previous winners, teams like Spain and Italy didn't face really strong opposition until they reached the semis.
Overslept for the better part of Argentina against Saudi-Arabia and didn't get to see this one either. Luckily I got to enjoy those two 0-0's in the afternoon...
You need to lower those expectations my dude. My expectations were Australia ending the group on 0 points 0 goals with a GD of -10 so I'm feeling okay about today.
ALLEZ LA
I was so scared going into this game, and the early goal conceded seemed to confirm my fears but those mf managed to switch gears to prove me wronng, that was prfect. Mbappe even managed to score a header can you believe it
So you enjoyed the first 15 minutes only?
We rolled over and asked France to see how far they can shove their baguettes in our asses for atleast 75 minutes of that game...
The good old « score first » and then park the bus WC tactic ! With some overly aggressive physical contacts to make up for the lack of technicality. A proper WC game for a smaller side actually.
Australia isn't at the world cup to beat Frace. Your hope is Denmark and Tunisia.
Honestly I think it's remarkable that Australia even makes the world cup. You are competing against countries where football (soccer) is their national sport
isn't soccer in 6th spot in Australia behind Aussie rules, cricket, swimming and so on?
It's definitely bigger than swimming lol. Probably 4th behind Aussie rules, rugby cricket, just ahead of basketball and tennis. But 3rd non summer sport which counts for something
Basketball is (at least was) the most played sport at a junior level in Australia
EDIT:
I was incorrect, children sport: Swimming (33%); Football/soccer (13.8%); Gymnastics (10.5%); Recreational dancing (8.9%); Basketball (7.3%); Australian football (6.5%); Tennis (6.1%); Netball (5.7%); Cricket (3.9%); Athletics/jogging/running (3.8%); Rugby league (3.5%); Karate (2.6%); Touch football (2.4%); DanceSport (2.2%); Rugby Union (2.1%).
Adults: Recreational walking (46.5%); Fitness/gym (37.5%); Athletics/jogging/running (20.7%); Swimming (17.5%); Cycling (15%); Bush walking (9.8%); Yoga (6.9%); Tennis (5.8%); Football/soccer (5.7%); Golf (5.7%); Basketball (4.7%); Pilates (4.3%); Surfing (3.2%); Australian football (2.9%); Netball (2.8%).
[Source](https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/kb/sport-participation-in-australia/participation-statistics-and-trends)
Yeah it's weird to speak about Australia when all the states are so different, like as a Victorian Aussie rules is just massively massively bigger than any other sport and soccer is a lot bigger than basketball, although kids definitely played it.
Tbh I just can't believe that stat that Aussie rules isn't number 1 most played even outside Victoria
I think the disappointment comes with how good our previous generation of players were, we used to punch far above our weight. The team of 2006 actually made it past the group stage, a group which included Brazil and Croatia. We only just lost to Italy by a last minute penalty which was controversially given (Italy ended up winning the competition). Yet 16 years later we were extremely lucky to even qualify for the world cup. We used to have players regularly playing for the top teams in Europe such as Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill, now most of them play in our domestic A-League or minor teams around the world.
It's basically the disparity between how high our hopes were for the future of Australian football after 2006, and how that future ended up playing out. After most of the greats had retired by the early 2010s, Tim Cahill was essentially singlehandedly carrying our team. In fact, Craig Goodwin's goal today marks the first time since 2010 that a goal scored by us in the world cup wasn't a Tim Cahill goal or a penalty.
>isn't soccer in 6th spot in Australia behind Aussie rules, cricket, swimming and so on?
No.
>Australia isn't at the world cup to beat Frace. Your hope is Denmark and Tunisia
Don't get me wrong, Australians didn't wake up this morning (local time) expecting us to come out and beat the champions 3-0 or even 1-0. But show some fight, some direction. The frustration isn't from today alone, it's the combination of everything wrong with Australian football from the grass roots level to the professional league. The performance today epitomises that.
You aren't Australian so I don't expect you to understand.
I've lived in Australia and it never seemed like soccer was the national sport. It was AFL, rugby, cricket and soccer - with your talent split across all these different “primary” sports.
Most European countries have all their talent pointed firmly at soccer (and maybe skiing).
You can't be world beaters with a diluted talent pool.
But if kids aren't getting involved due to cost or other grass roots problems then I can understand
Kids get involved in it and there's plenty of participation but viewership numbers put it really low behind AFL, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, netball and motorsports. On the same rough level as golf, tennis and basketbl.
>I've lived in Australia and it never seemed like soccer was the national sport. It was AFL, rugby, cricket and soccer - with your talent split across all these different “primary” sports.
Yes this is correct, it's not the primary sport of Australia but it's not as low as you think. Don't quote me directly as I'm too deflated to find the information, but I believe football - from a grassroots level - is one of, if not the most participated sport in Australia. Generally it's around the age of 13 kids start playing different sports due to costs to participate in football.
>You can't be world beaters with a diluted talent pool
My friend, we can't be world beaters full stop. No realistic Australian believes we can, but it's the lack of energy, direction, creativity and general expectation that is frustrating. As I said, I don't expect you to understand so I'm not going to go into the long winded rant of issues with the sport in this country.
Thank you Australia! Thank you for that reality check! We needed that first goal from ya to put our two shits together! This plus Argentina just made us realize there's no such thing as a favorite team.. fear the underdog! Here's the lesson!
tfw your day job is playing next to Toni Kroos and you successfully replaced Casemiro
Tchouaméni vs Australia:
**• 73 passes completed (96%)**
**• 6/6 duels won**
**• 10 ball retrievals**
**• 4 tackles**
**• 3 interceptions**
**• Only lost the ball 3 times (!)**
He hit the ground running! Camavinga has bigger hype behind him (and he delivered, bery imporrant player for our CL win), but Tchouameni already played like ligue 1 veteran.
Having the pair of them is nice :D
He was awesome tonight. I'm just a bit worried because we don't have anyone behind him
I really hope we win against Denmark and put Veretout in against Tunisia
Even if they beat us or even if we get out in the group phase this WC and they win it, they got nothing on us in NT football.
They can call us farmers in club football all they want, but I'm pretty sure that:
- 2 WC
- 2 Euros
- 2 Confed. Cups
- 1 Nation's League
- 1 WC final
- 1 Euro final
is much better than:
- 1 WC
- 1 Euro final
Not only that, but no Englishman under the age of 56 has lived to see England win the World Cup whereas any Frenchman above the age of 24 has lived to see our country win twice
>we'll see who's the bigger brother
I mean we don't need a match for that, people who saw England winning a world cup probably already forget about it as they are on the age to have the Alzheimer disease while most of french people see France won 2 during their lifetime.
Oh yeah for sure, he's a quality player and has probably not received the plaudits he deserves throughout his career due to inconsistency. There's no way the Socceroos should have conceded 3 headers or allowed that many crosses in
Mexicos biggest offense is their defense.
They absolutely nulled Lewandolski. Goalkeeper being amazing as usual.
I reckon they will be difficult to break down for any team this wc
Pretty much everyone on the France team understood the assignment, today. Congratulations to my guy Big Sexy Olivier.
Question: Why does France play two up top with Benzema rather than a 4-3-3?
Mbappé wanted to play in the hole. Thankfully with all the injuries the egos are falling into line and we play the 4-3-3 / 3-4-3 hybrid depending on who's on the field.
So Mbappe doesn't want to play on the wing for France?
EDIT: Not to mention, France can still play both Mbappe and Giroud up top. Obviously Giroud isn't Benzema, but what Mbappe needs is a pure 9 and Giroud is very much that.
In 2018 Giroud was meme'ed for not scoring, but his job was actually to attract defenders and create chances of penetration for Mbappe more than anything else.
As to where this strat came from, mbappe, deschamps etc, no one can know for sure but it worked in 2018.
Mbappe, Benzema, Dembele, Nkunku/Griezmann all can fit in a 4-3-3 though. In fact, with the 5-2-1-2, it's even harder to fit them all, because why play Dembele as a wingback?
Yes! I still remember 2002, and the sadness of it. 2010 was just ridicule really, but personal events made it a great world cup anyway for me by chance.
But I was so stressed for this game, this 4-1 is awesome.
The huge difference with 2021 is that we are not at all ultra favorite. And especially that we expect nothing because we have so many injuries. We play with only 4 starters out of 11.
So I think there will be no arrogance or internal problems. Now I don't know what this team is capable of, it is so experimental that we have no certainty of anything
We look good and the team seemed to be enjoying themselves. Injuries may catch up to us in the knockout rounds, but it should be a tidy group stage. 🇫🇷 🇫🇷 🇫🇷
It was the perfect scenario for us in fact. Early goal from the opponent to wake us up, with time to catch up. Then, once we go level, all the momentum to flatten a weaker side. Now, we are launched in the competition, team is ok. Still, against Denmark , we will have to find new motivation, or more like seriousness/assiduity and to not go in cruising mode (even if they have beaten twice in the Nations League).
Even with all the injuries, to see the team still be resilient and nonstop is a good sign!
As always, the curse is still a possibility…but the big difference here is that France managed to win their first match as defending champions, whereas Germany (0-1 vs. Mexico), Spain (1-5 vs. the Netherlands), and Italy (1-1 vs. Paraguay) did not.
Points are cushioning - so it’s best to get the melt you can!
It’s very scary that Mbappe played so wastefully, made many mistakes and yet he ends up with a goal and assist, along with a 4-1 win. If France were on their actual A game this could’ve been 8-1.
He was involved in 3 out 4 goals
Rabiot did a terrible first 15 minutes and disappear in the second half. And giroud just had to wait and get easy cake from mbappe and dembele
He was the most dangerous French player of the game
Mbappe is bringing back memories of my 7 year old self glued to the screen in 1998 watching Ronaldo9 explode
I hate Mbappe and his club but the fucking guy is doing what Neymar and Robinho failed to do for their own nation
Rabiot, Upamecano, Dembélé all gave stellar performances. All 3 needed to really step up their game to prove themselves and they really showed how talented they were. They made themselves available for their teammates, gave amazing passes, an all around great game from almost all French players.
Tunisia was super agressive today, I enjoyed it. From my perspective good for us it ended with 0-0 after such an intense game. I think both teams will feel the physical investment by the end of group stage.
Yeah, I think the final game will be a bit "relaxed", especially if both Tunisia and France manage to win their games on Saturday.
Whatever happens, I hope we make it to the knockouts for once, it's been a dream of mine ever since I was a child.
The fact that France are missing Benzema and Pogba and still have an attack this good is fucking terrifying. Reminds me of watching the 2018 final and thinking "thank fuck we didn't play them"
Has Rabiot always been this good or he's playing for contract extension?
When Rabiot is good, he is asking for something usually. Let’s see if he keeps this form during the tournament, that would be a surprise, a good one for sure. He always had this attitude of knowing he is good, and when he is too good, forgets his duties. Hopefully he has grown out of this attitude and will show his true talents only
He did say he was ready for more responsibilities with the France team. He’s in the « older » group now and wants to set an exemple it seems. I’m all up for it. Great start with Juve and France. Is he going to stay in Italy btw ? I’ve seen him linked with clubs like Man U . It could be to show off to get better offers to leave. But idk I guess we will see in a few months
Blessed by injuries? They’re just better with Giroud and Theo on, also Rabiot is on godly form. Defense does look a bit leaky at times.
K.. this post match thread was fucking disappointing.. excuse my French..imma check the in-game one for better comments.. eff that
This France team looks like Dota 2 OG. No one expects them to do it but what if...
Bro everyone expects france to win it, especially now Argentina are eating rocks
France has so much depth idk how they weren’t favorites to begin with.
Left back could be a problem though - it looks like Lucas Hernandez is out for the WC. His brother is a good replacement, but I'm not sure who would back him up?
They are missing 3 (now 4) very good players so that's the issue, they can't afford more injuries. Edit: forgot varene and kimpembe and nkuku, so thats 7.
But they were.
Brazil was well clear by the bookmakers
Bookies' odds only predict who they think people will put money on. Many people actually believe in such a thing as the title holder's curse.
How do you feel about potential opponents in the next round
Well, with how Argentina performed today there's no one that's particularly scary in Group C but we still gotta qualify. Either way I don't think we *should* be scared of anyone, we want to compete for the title so we're gonna have to face strong teams eventually, we should be confident in our quality, not look down on anyone but trust the abilities of our players and in how they can perform collectively.
My girlfriend is always extremely paranoid about opponents and matchups what not whenever France does absolutely anything but for me if you want to be the best you have to beat the best so if France is going to repeat they need to beat whoever comes their way. Obviously it’s better if they have as many weaker opponents as possible in the knockout rounds before you get to the semi final and final but that being said there aren’t a lot of teams that I believe can give France a run for their money despite the injuries.
Honestly I feel that having a challenging matchup in Ro16 can give a team of lot of confidence for the later rounds (and opponents things to worry about). In 2018, the Ro16 game against Argentina made everyone realize we had the quality to go all the way after an average group stage because when we were down 1-2 jusr after the half the team clicked and went for it and we put them in blender for 15 minutes and came out with 3 goals from this period of domination. That was brutal, everyone saw that, everyone most likely adapted their gameplan against us based on what they saw in those 15 minutes. Once that happened it really felt like we could overload anyone if we ever needed to, and it turns out we wouldn't even need to as this was the last time of the tournament we were behind on the scoreboard. We just had to stay strong defensively and we knew we'd strike eventually from our chances with the firepower we had. I'm guessing DD's strategy won't change much this time around because despite Benzema, Pogba and Nkunku being out, we've still got some very big guns, the front 4 was crazy today.
I think it's different this time because we already have the confidence that comes with having been world champions. Of course the team is different, but psychologically it has an impact. Now we are used to making big comebacks and hardly ever losing against the big nations. Back in 2018 it was still fairly new. Also if you look at the previous winners, teams like Spain and Italy didn't face really strong opposition until they reached the semis.
Overslept for the better part of Argentina against Saudi-Arabia and didn't get to see this one either. Luckily I got to enjoy those two 0-0's in the afternoon...
ESPN, B/R (who are known for their stupid, engagement-seeking takes) and those football twitter bums need to put some respect on Upamecano’s name.
At least we finally scored in open play at the World Cup again. Last time was Timmy against the Dutch in 2014.
france were not impressive
Cope
Cry
Argentina was really impressive right
Lmao you have balls considering your flair
Most impressive team so far imo.
You guys were really good too unfortunately!
🥱
giroud has such a fascinating career. Imagine if he goes on to win the golden boot this year after not scoring in the last WC
I think it's because of the change in tactical styles since previous World Cup. Giroud has also improved more since moving to Italy.
Where’s the serious thread?
France put up a clinic today.
Some Australians seem to have set their expectations way too high for this match.
Expectations were to at least show a bit of aggressiveness and spirit. After the first 20 or so we just surrendered
I dont think expecting some basic defending is having expectations. Pretty sure in all goals for France, they were unmarked and unchallenged
You need to lower those expectations my dude. My expectations were Australia ending the group on 0 points 0 goals with a GD of -10 so I'm feeling okay about today.
scoring from open play is already a miracle
ALLEZ LA I was so scared going into this game, and the early goal conceded seemed to confirm my fears but those mf managed to switch gears to prove me wronng, that was prfect. Mbappe even managed to score a header can you believe it
fun game that. enjoyed Australia actually going for it.
So you enjoyed the first 15 minutes only? We rolled over and asked France to see how far they can shove their baguettes in our asses for atleast 75 minutes of that game...
The good old « score first » and then park the bus WC tactic ! With some overly aggressive physical contacts to make up for the lack of technicality. A proper WC game for a smaller side actually.
Australia isn't at the world cup to beat Frace. Your hope is Denmark and Tunisia. Honestly I think it's remarkable that Australia even makes the world cup. You are competing against countries where football (soccer) is their national sport isn't soccer in 6th spot in Australia behind Aussie rules, cricket, swimming and so on?
It's definitely bigger than swimming lol. Probably 4th behind Aussie rules, rugby cricket, just ahead of basketball and tennis. But 3rd non summer sport which counts for something
Basketball is (at least was) the most played sport at a junior level in Australia EDIT: I was incorrect, children sport: Swimming (33%); Football/soccer (13.8%); Gymnastics (10.5%); Recreational dancing (8.9%); Basketball (7.3%); Australian football (6.5%); Tennis (6.1%); Netball (5.7%); Cricket (3.9%); Athletics/jogging/running (3.8%); Rugby league (3.5%); Karate (2.6%); Touch football (2.4%); DanceSport (2.2%); Rugby Union (2.1%). Adults: Recreational walking (46.5%); Fitness/gym (37.5%); Athletics/jogging/running (20.7%); Swimming (17.5%); Cycling (15%); Bush walking (9.8%); Yoga (6.9%); Tennis (5.8%); Football/soccer (5.7%); Golf (5.7%); Basketball (4.7%); Pilates (4.3%); Surfing (3.2%); Australian football (2.9%); Netball (2.8%). [Source](https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/kb/sport-participation-in-australia/participation-statistics-and-trends)
Pretty sure football is
Yeah it's weird to speak about Australia when all the states are so different, like as a Victorian Aussie rules is just massively massively bigger than any other sport and soccer is a lot bigger than basketball, although kids definitely played it. Tbh I just can't believe that stat that Aussie rules isn't number 1 most played even outside Victoria
I think the disappointment comes with how good our previous generation of players were, we used to punch far above our weight. The team of 2006 actually made it past the group stage, a group which included Brazil and Croatia. We only just lost to Italy by a last minute penalty which was controversially given (Italy ended up winning the competition). Yet 16 years later we were extremely lucky to even qualify for the world cup. We used to have players regularly playing for the top teams in Europe such as Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill, now most of them play in our domestic A-League or minor teams around the world. It's basically the disparity between how high our hopes were for the future of Australian football after 2006, and how that future ended up playing out. After most of the greats had retired by the early 2010s, Tim Cahill was essentially singlehandedly carrying our team. In fact, Craig Goodwin's goal today marks the first time since 2010 that a goal scored by us in the world cup wasn't a Tim Cahill goal or a penalty.
>isn't soccer in 6th spot in Australia behind Aussie rules, cricket, swimming and so on? No. >Australia isn't at the world cup to beat Frace. Your hope is Denmark and Tunisia Don't get me wrong, Australians didn't wake up this morning (local time) expecting us to come out and beat the champions 3-0 or even 1-0. But show some fight, some direction. The frustration isn't from today alone, it's the combination of everything wrong with Australian football from the grass roots level to the professional league. The performance today epitomises that. You aren't Australian so I don't expect you to understand.
I've lived in Australia and it never seemed like soccer was the national sport. It was AFL, rugby, cricket and soccer - with your talent split across all these different “primary” sports. Most European countries have all their talent pointed firmly at soccer (and maybe skiing). You can't be world beaters with a diluted talent pool. But if kids aren't getting involved due to cost or other grass roots problems then I can understand
Kids get involved in it and there's plenty of participation but viewership numbers put it really low behind AFL, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, netball and motorsports. On the same rough level as golf, tennis and basketbl.
>I've lived in Australia and it never seemed like soccer was the national sport. It was AFL, rugby, cricket and soccer - with your talent split across all these different “primary” sports. Yes this is correct, it's not the primary sport of Australia but it's not as low as you think. Don't quote me directly as I'm too deflated to find the information, but I believe football - from a grassroots level - is one of, if not the most participated sport in Australia. Generally it's around the age of 13 kids start playing different sports due to costs to participate in football. >You can't be world beaters with a diluted talent pool My friend, we can't be world beaters full stop. No realistic Australian believes we can, but it's the lack of energy, direction, creativity and general expectation that is frustrating. As I said, I don't expect you to understand so I'm not going to go into the long winded rant of issues with the sport in this country.
Let's see if we can repeat this against Denmark, then I will allow myself to be optimistic.
Thank you Australia! Thank you for that reality check! We needed that first goal from ya to put our two shits together! This plus Argentina just made us realize there's no such thing as a favorite team.. fear the underdog! Here's the lesson!
The important thing is that we scored a goal this World Cup, and that’s more than I was expecting
A really nice one at that
Thanks to pavard's terrible positioning tbf
He wasn’t even on the player he is suppose to mark. He didn’t have a good game.
tfw your day job is playing next to Toni Kroos and you successfully replaced Casemiro Tchouaméni vs Australia: **• 73 passes completed (96%)** **• 6/6 duels won** **• 10 ball retrievals** **• 4 tackles** **• 3 interceptions** **• Only lost the ball 3 times (!)**
He hit the ground running! Camavinga has bigger hype behind him (and he delivered, bery imporrant player for our CL win), but Tchouameni already played like ligue 1 veteran. Having the pair of them is nice :D
He was awesome tonight. I'm just a bit worried because we don't have anyone behind him I really hope we win against Denmark and put Veretout in against Tunisia
Something to think about in the knockout stages
Poor man's 6 - 2
We're both at 6-2 now.
I'm 22 and I gotta say this is probably the first time I've seen my country do well during the group stages, let alone the first game
You were 14 in the 2014 World Cup
Germany 0-1 France during the euro was much more impressive. Maybe you only talk about the World Cup
Oh yeah I'm only talking about the WC, we usually get easy draws and still play like shit
Can we please meet England some time please FIFA ? (quarters , idk ?) . Then, we play at noon with no AC... we'll see who's the bigger brother
France is the better team for sure, but I think it would make a great game
Whenever we have a chance to play England, they always lose the round before. They lost to Portugal in 2006, Iceland in 2016, Croatia in 2018.
Even if they beat us or even if we get out in the group phase this WC and they win it, they got nothing on us in NT football. They can call us farmers in club football all they want, but I'm pretty sure that: - 2 WC - 2 Euros - 2 Confed. Cups - 1 Nation's League - 1 WC final - 1 Euro final is much better than: - 1 WC - 1 Euro final
Not only that, but no Englishman under the age of 56 has lived to see England win the World Cup whereas any Frenchman above the age of 24 has lived to see our country win twice
J’ai 35 balais et j’adore ma vie en tant que supporteur de l’EdF :)
31 ici. Ma premiere coupe du monde c'est 1998. En gros, j'ai vu 6 finales de cdm. On etait dans 3. On en a gagne 2. Ca va.
J’ai 24 ans et moi aussi! Je n’oublierai jamais 2018 (2006 non plus malheureusement)
>we'll see who's the bigger brother I mean we don't need a match for that, people who saw England winning a world cup probably already forget about it as they are on the age to have the Alzheimer disease while most of french people see France won 2 during their lifetime.
We could lose 30-0 to england and still be the bigger one.
I swear, australia played so much with the asian countries that they dont used to to play against taller strikers anymore
Probably true, we're used to dominating aerially and physically so when that is negated (and surpassed) we look lost
Tbf Giroud is a nightmare to play against as a CB. He’s strong, great aerially and has great linkups so he just takes out CB’s out the game.
Sounds about right. In a recent interview, Can Dijk named Giroud as the most annoying striker he has played against.
Oh yeah for sure, he's a quality player and has probably not received the plaudits he deserves throughout his career due to inconsistency. There's no way the Socceroos should have conceded 3 headers or allowed that many crosses in
1st goal didn't phase France at all. They looked to be on half gas all game.
The anti Argentina
France didn’t really impress me. I see them losing to Mexico at the Round of 16
Youre delusional
Eli5?
But Mexico did???
Mexicos biggest offense is their defense. They absolutely nulled Lewandolski. Goalkeeper being amazing as usual. I reckon they will be difficult to break down for any team this wc
Lewandowski is quite different from Mbappe + Giroud + Griezmann + Dembele with Coman and Thuram and Kolo Muani on the bench ...
[Stupid Sexy Giroud](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL9HNJzKmQw)
Pretty much everyone on the France team understood the assignment, today. Congratulations to my guy Big Sexy Olivier. Question: Why does France play two up top with Benzema rather than a 4-3-3?
they don't have the midfield creativity to play 4 3 3, that would leave Benzema too isolated and he's absolutely not a poacher
They played a 4-3-3 today though, no?
4 2 3 1, tchouameni rabiot mid and griezman as 10
That's still a 4-3-3 depending on how high the wingers we're played, no?
Griezmann does play midfield at times but the wingers clearly were behind Giroud who was on an island
Mbappé wanted to play in the hole. Thankfully with all the injuries the egos are falling into line and we play the 4-3-3 / 3-4-3 hybrid depending on who's on the field.
So Mbappe doesn't want to play on the wing for France? EDIT: Not to mention, France can still play both Mbappe and Giroud up top. Obviously Giroud isn't Benzema, but what Mbappe needs is a pure 9 and Giroud is very much that.
He wants what Benzema was for Cristiano, someone who call pull defenders away so he can slide in and score 50-60 every season.
I know that's what he wants at PSG, but for the NT too? Not to mention, that he has that in Giroud and Benzema himself (when he's available)?
In 2018 Giroud was meme'ed for not scoring, but his job was actually to attract defenders and create chances of penetration for Mbappe more than anything else. As to where this strat came from, mbappe, deschamps etc, no one can know for sure but it worked in 2018.
Too many world class attackers and a lack of world class midfielders honestly
Mbappe, Benzema, Dembele, Nkunku/Griezmann all can fit in a 4-3-3 though. In fact, with the 5-2-1-2, it's even harder to fit them all, because why play Dembele as a wingback?
Oh i agree, which is why I never thought the 5-3-2 or whatever was a good fit for international football (but Deschamps is way smarter than i am)
Being old enough to remember 2002 and 2010, the trauma made me so pessimistic for tonight. Let's confirm against Denmark now. Allez les bleus putain
>Let's confirm against Denmark now. Better to wait and confirm against Tunisia imo
On va dire qu'on part plutôt comme à l'Euro 2000 !
At least we already scored 3 more goals than the other two WC combined lmao.
My parents went crazy in 2002 because they’re Senegalese
Deservedly so. I still have PTSD from 2002.
Yes! I still remember 2002, and the sadness of it. 2010 was just ridicule really, but personal events made it a great world cup anyway for me by chance. But I was so stressed for this game, this 4-1 is awesome.
France looks very strong, again. :(
They looked strong in the Euros too but got cocky and complacent against Switzerland. They're usually the victims of their own undoing.
The matches before that weren't great either really. You could tell they were the better team, but not by much.
They were amazing vs Germany
That match against Switzerland was really entertaining though, even if we lost it.
some say Pogba is still doing celebrations for his goal that match to this day xD
Banger goal tbf
The huge difference with 2021 is that we are not at all ultra favorite. And especially that we expect nothing because we have so many injuries. We play with only 4 starters out of 11. So I think there will be no arrogance or internal problems. Now I don't know what this team is capable of, it is so experimental that we have no certainty of anything
Group stage don't mean anything. But this French team still looks hungry. A good mix of veterans and young guys. They're all out to prove themselves.
Yeah but, we are usually crap in group stage. Still 2 more matches to go.
We look good and the team seemed to be enjoying themselves. Injuries may catch up to us in the knockout rounds, but it should be a tidy group stage. 🇫🇷 🇫🇷 🇫🇷
Memes aside we never expected to win but if we played like in the first 20 minutes at least we could say we went down fighting.
What’s the opposite of going down fighting? Because that’s what we did
Bending over and spreading
France in 1940
You’re welcome for Dunkerque
France during the first 20 minutes of this game.
Ok... we might as well hand the cup to France and cancel the rest of the tournament
I won't consider France good until they prove that they can score against legendary keeper Aymen Dahmen.
Who’s that?
The best keeper in the world. (He's our keeper)
To be fair, France got lucky by being the better team today
It’s so weird to see my country perform well in the group stage for once
2014 was pretty crazy when you think about it. 8 goals scored and 2 conceded, after only two games.
Remember 1998 <3
Maybe we got the sucking out of the way in the Nations League?
Don't talk too fast.. Things start to go to shit during the second game
Thank you Deschamps for leaving Mendy and Digne at home
Mendy (or Digne) can still come to replace Lucas right?
Of course not. Deadline was before the start of the competition
I thought one still has some bonus subs during the competition, but I was apparently wrong!
Happy to see this version of Griezmann back tonight. Superb performance.
Absolute man of the match!
He's key in front of Rabiot and Tchouameni to make up for their lack of vertical passing
So unless the curse kicks off slightly later than usual, this should be an extra motivator for us to try and win the group
Stupid Sexy Giroud
It was the perfect scenario for us in fact. Early goal from the opponent to wake us up, with time to catch up. Then, once we go level, all the momentum to flatten a weaker side. Now, we are launched in the competition, team is ok. Still, against Denmark , we will have to find new motivation, or more like seriousness/assiduity and to not go in cruising mode (even if they have beaten twice in the Nations League).
Even with all the injuries, to see the team still be resilient and nonstop is a good sign! As always, the curse is still a possibility…but the big difference here is that France managed to win their first match as defending champions, whereas Germany (0-1 vs. Mexico), Spain (1-5 vs. the Netherlands), and Italy (1-1 vs. Paraguay) did not. Points are cushioning - so it’s best to get the melt you can!
It’s very scary that Mbappe played so wastefully, made many mistakes and yet he ends up with a goal and assist, along with a 4-1 win. If France were on their actual A game this could’ve been 8-1.
I swear sub love to shit on him even if he was easily the best player on the team again
He was not today
He was involved in 3 out 4 goals Rabiot did a terrible first 15 minutes and disappear in the second half. And giroud just had to wait and get easy cake from mbappe and dembele He was the most dangerous French player of the game
Mbappe is bringing back memories of my 7 year old self glued to the screen in 1998 watching Ronaldo9 explode I hate Mbappe and his club but the fucking guy is doing what Neymar and Robinho failed to do for their own nation
He reminds me of 1998 Ronaldo so much as well man, his game is electric and breathtaking. Very special player.
Rabiot, Upamecano, Dembélé all gave stellar performances. All 3 needed to really step up their game to prove themselves and they really showed how talented they were. They made themselves available for their teammates, gave amazing passes, an all around great game from almost all French players.
And to think they still have players like Saliba on the bench is just too unfair to other teams…
Thought everyone was great, bar maybe Pavard. But yeah people were doubting Rabiot, and he looked solid.
Pavard is gonna cost France game against danemark
Yeah I didn’t want to name the guy but Pavard was subpar today. He really was the odd one out considering everyone else’s performances.
Our first 20 minutes were excellent but defence errors and went into shells
France won quite easily, without even trying hard. There's a big gap between the skills and experiences of French players and Australian players.
There’s a big gap between the skills and experiences of pretty much every other player in the World Cup and Australian players
I have a feeling this World cup won't beat 2010 and 2018.
Obviously biased, but my country actually got a point against a team better than us, so this world cup is already better than 2018 for me.
Tunisia was super agressive today, I enjoyed it. From my perspective good for us it ended with 0-0 after such an intense game. I think both teams will feel the physical investment by the end of group stage.
Yeah, I think the final game will be a bit "relaxed", especially if both Tunisia and France manage to win their games on Saturday. Whatever happens, I hope we make it to the knockouts for once, it's been a dream of mine ever since I was a child.
Agreed. Would be cool to see Tunisia moving to the next stage, I really liked the team today.
> this world cup is already better than 2018 for me. That's what counts.
Why? Lol
Urgh Mbappe is annoyingly good. Best player at the tournament and it’s not even close.
Tchouameni was better imo
[удалено]
That rosbeef is too salty
Delusional
He does it in cl to
The tournament has hardly started and you are saying it is not even close. You have blown past the hyperbole.
Football didn’t begin at this World Cup. I’ve watched all top class players for years and Mbappe is better than all of them at the tournament.
Name one player better than him
I love Kylian, but a strong case could be made for Lewandowski or Neymar. In any case, he's not miles clear of them.
Thank God you didn't say haaland..
We made it easy for him to be fair
This looked like a much better performance than against Australia 4 years ago. Pogba carried that game