Olivier Giroud netted twice to develop into France’s joint report scorer as they fought again to place Australia to the sword, opening their World Cup defence with a 4-1 win in Group D on Tuesday, which silenced speak of a holders’ curse.
Australia had taken a surprising lead at Al Janoub Stadium when Craig Goodwin utilized an excellent end to Mathew Leckie’s cross after 9 minutes, however France levelled when Adrien Rabiot headed home and Giroud’s tap-in gave them the halftime lead.
Kylian Mbappe’s glancing header within the 68th minute was adopted by Giroud’s 51st worldwide purpose three minutes later, drawing him degree with Thierry Henry as France’s all-time high marksman.
French coach Didier Deschamps’s aspect, who lead Group D after rivals Denmark and Tunisia drew 0-Zero earlier on Tuesday, ended a run of poor begins for World Cup holders after the earlier three – Italy, Spain and Germany – all didn’t win their openers.
