Australia VS. France

Nail biter, heated player exchanges, a game for the ages!

Kai Moore, Reporter|December 14, 2022

This world cup was never boring as the beginnings of the tournament were showcased with this scenery in Doha Qatar.

(Revol Web, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons) — This is the Fifa world cup trophy right before it was given to Mbappe last world cup. This is one of the biggest awards that can be revived by a soccer player. Every player strives for this trophy.

The Australian men’s national soccer team played the French men’s national soccer team in group stage D on Tuesday November 22. France is the reigning champions because they won the world cup four years ago. The starting line up for the Australian team was; 1. Ryan (GK) – 2 Degenek, 19. Souttar, 4. Rowles, 16. Behich – 13. Mooy – 22. Irvine, 14. McGree, 7. Leckie, 23. Goodwin – 15. Duke. the French starting line up was; 1. Lloris (GK) – 2. Pavard, 24. Konaté, 18. Upamecano, 21. L. Hernandez – 8. Tchouaméni, 14. Rabiot – 11. Dembélé, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappé – 9. Giroud. the beginning of the game was slow. France was keeping possession but not progressing very much. In the ninth minute, Australia got a break away, and finished the opportunity. Craig Goodwin puts one away to make the game 1-0 in Australia’s favor. After that, Australia had all of the momentum and were getting more opportunities, and then they got scored on.

(Simo82, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons) — This is a representative of Australia soccer with the Australian national flag and the soccer ball.

Adrien Rabiot scored a header in the twenty seventh minute. Australia put their heads down, and started to lose hope. Then France got another goal in the thirty second minute. Oliver Giroud scores a tap in with an assist from Dembele. Australia was now down 2-1. they had almost lost all hope, and then they got scored on again. Oliver Giroud scored another goal. He scored the goal in the seventy first minute. Australia knew there was no way they could come back now.

France started to settle down and keep the ball. They didn’t have to score any more goals, but they couldn’t let Australia score on them. they were possessing the ball for a long time before they scored again. Kylian Mbappe, debatably one of the best strikers and goal scorers in the world, scored on the Australian team. he scored in the eighty eighth minute. He scored to make the game 4-1 in favor of France.

(TownDown, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons) — This is what the soccer ball that was used during the French warmups before the big game looked like. It was colored with the French notional colors; blue, white, and red.

There was only a few minutes left in the game, but to most peoples surprise, Australia did not just give up and put their head down. The team kept pushing for their country, even with no hope left in winning the game, and defeating the French team. The French team is possessing the ball again, and the Australian team was getting very tired. the Australian team won the ball. They took it down the field and had one final chance. The tried crossing it in, but it sailed out of bounds for a goal kick. The French goalie took the goal kick, and the final whistle blew. The game ended 4-1, France won.