France vs Australia: VAR history made, Kylian Mbappe shows his class, Paul Pogba saves Les Bleus blushes
Pogba spared Les Bleus' blushes with eight minutes remaining, his deflected strike ensuring they began their Group C campaign with all three points
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Your support makes all the difference.Paul Pogba proved the match-winner as a stuttering France started their World Cup with a win over Australia.
Antoine Griezmann made World Cup history by winning and scoring the first-ever penalty to be awarded by VAR before Mile Jedinak equalised from the spot. Didier Deschamps's men flattered to deceive for much of the game in Kazan but Pogba spared their blushes with eight minutes remaining, his deflected strike ensuring they began their Group C campaign with all three points.
Here's what we learned in Kazan:
1. History made
History was made in Kazan as VAR was used to give a penalty for the first time in the history of the tournament.
Griezmann was running through on goal before he was seemingly caught on the heel as he entered the penalty area by Josh Risdon’s outstretched leg.
Initially referee Andres Cunha allowed play to continue before he suddenly stopped the game after receiving an alert in his ear than he should look at the replays on the pitch-side monitor.
After watching the replay three or four times Cunha decided to make history by using VAR to award a penalty for the first time ever. Griezmann stepped up and thumped the resulting penalty into the corner of the net.
2. France are far from the finished article...
This was by far from the start Les Bleus, one of the tournament favourites, were looking for. Blessed with the talent they are you'd expect to see a fast and fluid side but instead Deschamps' men were sluggish, shorn of any kind of dynamism in the final third.
Mbappe - more on him shortly - caught the eye but Ousmane Dembele was particularly peripheral. Griezmann finally broke free to win the penalty but he too looked a shadow of the player who starred for Atletico this term. Manchester United fans will have recognised the Pogba wandering in and out the game in the middle of the park while Corentin Tolisso, so impressive for Bayern Munich this season, failed to stamp his authority on proceedings either.
This group is one of the more competitive and Deschamps has much work to do before Peru on Thursday.
3. ... but Mbappe could be the star of the tournament
If his side looked undercooked Mbappe certainly did not. The PSG star was France's brightest outlet, in an albeit thin field, and appeared to thrive in the No 9 role he has so often been given this season.
With Dembele on one side and Griezmann the other Mbappe was forced to occupy Australia's centre halves and did so well, particularly early on, with quick thinking and equally quick movement.
Olivier Giroud came on late on to add an extra dimension, an option Deschamps will surely look to going forward but Mbappe's place is assured.
4. Australia's almost expertly parked bus
Australia headed into Russia full of hope if not much expectation but held their own here against one of the best sides we'll see in Russia, on paper at least.
They aren't the prettiest but they are functional and their structured and organised shape frustrated the French for large periods. They rode their luck for sure but were good value for their share of the spoils until Pogba's late goal.
More of the same and far more winnable encounters down the line in Group C could bear far more fruit.
5. Varane shows his class if only in small doses
In a game where France were expected to dominate against Australia, they didn’t quite live up to their billing, but they also never panicked – a sentence that can be used to describe the career of Raphael Varane so far.
The Frenchman has four Champions League titles to his name but has never quite reached the potential he was expected to have when he was an 18-year-old leaving Lens for the bright lights of the Spanish capital. He battled with Pepe for a starting spot for the first half of his career at the Bernabeu before becoming Sergio Ramos’ not-so-dastardly side-kick on a full-time basis.
Manchester United have long held an interest in Varane, with his best time at Real coming when Jose Mourinho was manager, and the two clubs keep an open line so they can let each other know when players are available. Varane is one of the names that is always brought up and, interestingly, he is never off the table.
Varane has all the talent to be your classic Roll Royce central defender, but perhaps he needs the right driver. Perhaps that driver is at Manchester United.
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