Wild scenes on a cold Wednesday morning in Melbourne has shown once again the incredible power of the World Cup.
Plus why the Socceroos’ path to the knockout stage is simpler than you think, despite their 4-1 loss to France.
Get the latest in World Cup Daily!
Watch the world’s best footballers every week with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. LIVE coverage from Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Carabao Cup, EFL & SPFL. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
LES BLEUS MURDER! Socceroos ripped apart after early goal stuns champs in WC opener
‘OH MY GOD!’ Socceroos gun sends Australia into meltdown with WC stunner
ROOS RATINGS: Defender lives Mbappe nightmare; Mooy falls flat as A-League stars shine
France mount fierce fightback over Roos | 01:22
MOMENT OF AUSSIE FAN MADNESS STUNS WORLD
Anyone who says we aren’t a football-loving nation needs to watch the scenes from Melbourne’s Federation Square on Wednesday morning.
A packed crowd of Socceroos diehards filled the meeting space in the CBD from before 6am, watching the game against France on the big screen.
And when Craig Goodwin scored his wonder goal to put the Aussies ahead of the reigning champs, pandemonium ensued.
In one word: limbs.
TALKING PTS: ‘He took so long’ – Arnie’s tactics exposed as trio create unwanted headache
‘WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?’ Bosnich exposes Australia’s great football shame after France rout
‘BASICALLY PLAYED WITH 10 MEN’ Ex-Roo’s scathing attack on ‘minging’ Aussie star
“What are you going to do about that?” | 00:38
SOCCEROOS’ CLEAR PATH TO KNOCKOUTS REMAINS
While Australia certainly isn’t favoured to make it out of Group D, the draw between Denmark and Tunisia earlier on Wednesday morning ensures there’s a chance.
In previous World Cups the Socceroos have almost been knocked out by the time the first matchday ends – that’s because in 2010, 2014 and 2018, they lost their opening match while the second group game also saw a winner, putting the Aussies on 0 points and two sides on 3.
Most notably in South Africa, the Socceroos’ 4-0 loss to Germany destroyed their goal difference, which eventually saw them miss second place on the tiebreaker to Ghana.
But this time, with what should be Australia’s hardest game out of the way, they sit on 0 points but with the Danes and Tunisians on 1 point each.
Those opponents were always going to be the more likely candidates for Aussie points, and so if the Socceroos can pinch a win and a draw in their last two group games, they have a real shot of finishing second behind France.
Example
Matchday 2: Australia beats Tunisia, France beats or draws with Denmark
Matchday 3: Australia draws (or better) with Denmark, France beats Tunisia
Result: France 1st, Australia 2nd
Of course, Tunisia looked pretty dangerous against Denmark, so we’re not saying the match against our North African rivals will be easy. But it’s the most winnable of the three, and if the Aussies can’t beat Tunisia then they don’t deserve to make it out of the group anyway.
FRANCE DEALT ANOTHER CRUSHING INJURY BLOW
France has been dealt another injury setback with defender Lucas Hernandez ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a torn ACL in the 4-1 win over Australia.
France coach Didier Deschamps said after the victory that Hernandez’s knee injury “seemed pretty serious”, with the full extent of the injury later confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.
Deschamps’ men, bidding to become the first team to successfully defend the title since Brazil in 1962, had already seen Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Presnel Kimpembe ruled out before the tournament.
France had to come from behind after Craig Goodwin’s ninth-minute opener for the Socceroos.
Olivier Giroud scored twice to draw level with Thierry Henry on France’s all-time scoring list, with Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe also on the scoresheet in a 4-1 win.
“Even though we were caught cold at the start, we did everything right afterwards,” added Deschamps.
“In the second half we could have had an even bigger winning margin, but we did a lot of good things.”
