Also this year the team clear favorite of coach Didier Deschamps. The “Socceroos”, on the other hand, start the tournament without great expectations and at least want to annoy the French.
The Deschamps team felt the curse of the defending champion even before the start of the World Cup. Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema missed the entire tournament at short notice due to an injury sustained in training. The Real Madrid striker joined injured veterans Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kanté, as well as rising stars Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku.
Thoughts of possibly bad World Cup karma are consistently pushed aside, although in this millennium, with the exception of Brazil 2006, all world champions have already failed in the group phase and have not won their first game either.
The live ticker for the game:
Source: Nachrichten
