In the history of the World Cup, there was the ‘curse of the defending champion’, where the winner of the previous tournament always suffered in the next tournament. However, France, the winner of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, was different. Thanks to the performances of high-level players such as Olivier Giroud (AC Milan) and Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Australia were defeated in the first match of the group stage.
France striker Olivier Giroud (left) striker Kylian Mbappe (centre) and defender Theo after scoring during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group D first leg match against Australia at the Al-Zhanob Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar, on the 22nd (local time) I love Hernandez. France beat Australia 4-1 with a brace from Giroud despite a sudden injury to striker Karim Benzema. Doha AFP=Yonhap News
Defending World Cup champion France won 4-1 in the first leg of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group D group stage against Australia held at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar on the 23rd at 4:00 am (Korea time) . They conceded to Australia first, but Olivier Giroud (AC Milan) won the game with several goals.
France appeared to be invoking the curse of the defending champions as key players left one after the other due to injuries ahead of the tournament. Before the tournament, Paul Pogba (Juventus), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), and Christopher Nkunku (Leipzig) withdrew due to injuries. Even striker Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), who received the ‘Ballon d’Or’, was canceled due to an injury to his left thigh.
However, the jinx was broken as they won the first game. In this game, striker Giroud scored 2 goals and reported his 51st goal in A-game. Giroud tied French legend Thierry Henry’s record of 51 goals in the history of the A game. If you add just one more goal in the remaining schedule, including two group games, you will surpass Henry.
France was hit by Craig Goodwin (Adelaide United) in the ninth minute of the game. France turned the game around with Adrien Rabiot’s (Juventus) goal on 27 minutes of the first half. Then, in the 32nd minute, Giroud connected Rabio’s cross with an accurate header and scored a come-from-behind goal. France, who led 2-1 in the first half, scored consecutive goals from Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) in the 23rd minute and Giroud in the 26th minute to secure victory.
After winning the first match, France rose to first place in Group D. Australia was fourth, at the bottom of the table, following Tunisia and Denmark, who drew the same group match held earlier.
Reporter Jang Han-seo jhs@segye.com
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