French stick boot in
Champs say ‘Roo who?’
THE disparity between the Socceroos and France in terms of recognition and fame is apparent enough, but stark confirmation came on Sunday night (Doha time) when towering French defender Ibrahima Konate was asked if he knew any of the Socceroos players.
“No, not at all. I don’t know any of them,” Konate, who moved to Liverpool last offseason for $65m, offered succinctly.
Okkaaaay then.
Eduardo Camavinga grabbed the mic next. Just two weeks ago, the boom 20-yearold midfielder was an unused substitute for Real Madrid against Celtic, who had Aaron Mooy running around in midfield for the whole 90 minutes.
The 20-year-old offered only a blank look. He didn’t know Mooy. Just offered some generalities about the Australian team.
There was nothing sinister about the lack of Socceroos knowledge. Both spoke eloquently for 20 minutes each in front of a room full of journalists detailing their own ups, downs and ambitions.
They can’t, however, easily identify Mat Leckie from Mat Ryan, or Kye Rowles from rye rolls.
Not to say France manager Didier Deschamps hasn’t passed on some observations from the clash in Kazan four years ago, when France escaped with a 2-1 win over a resolute Australia to start a campaign that ended in glory.
“We studied this team well with the coach and the staff, we expect a difficult match because they put us in difficulty four years ago,” Camavinga says.
“It’s a very good team. Already, if they were able to qualify for the (World Cup), it’s because it’s a good team.”
Camavinga believes the Socceroos will employ a similar passive game plan to what nearly worked in 2018.
“They will probably wait for us,” he said.
The French could be surprised in this regard.
All week the Australians have highlighted a need to get in the French team’s faces rather than repeating the conservative, careful approach.
The French do expect a physical challenge, with robust “duels” with those in gold.
“Personally I’m ready, playing Premier League,” Kounate said. “I’m used to these kinds of duels. I have a lot of experience in those combats. Everyone in our team is used to that at this level. The intensity levels will be what you expect in a World Cup game.”
Manager Deschamps allowed the media to watch the entire session on Sunday night (Doha time). It looks likely he will employ the 4-2-3-1 system that won the World Cup in 2018, with star forward Kylian Mbappe to start on the left side with freedom to roam infield. Olivier Giroud is certain to start as striker after Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema was ruled out of the World Cup with a quad injury.