France hopes luck won’t be needed to get past Peru
Aussies undeterred by opening loss at the World Cup
The pre-tournament favourites at this World Cup have struggled so far. France is no exception — but at least it has a win.
Les Bleus, who are seventh in the FIFA world rankings, got past Australia 2-1 in their opener despite a mostly lackluster effort from their trio of elite strikers.
France benefited from some good fortune. Its first goal came after a penalty called with the aid of video review. Then it scored again on a fluky goal that was found by goal-line technology to have crossed the line and was later determined to have been last touched by an Australian player.
France was one of only two teams ranked in FIFA's top seven to win its opening match. The other was Belgium.
A win today night against Peru at Yekaterinburg Arena would put France in position to wrap up a second consecutive appearance in the round of 16.
The Peruvians held a 17-10 advantage in shots on goal but failed to capitalize on their chances during a 1-0 loss to Denmark.
Peru's task could be even harder against Group C favorite France, which it will be facing for the first time in World Cup play.
The only previous meeting between the teams was a 1982 friendly that Peru won 1-0.
TROUBLED TRIO
France's top attackers — Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele — were underwhelming against Australia.
France outshot its opponent 12-6. Griezmann had five of those attempts, Mbappe had one and Dembele played 70 minutes without a shot on goal. Griezmann's goal came after a penalty, the byproduct of a video assistant referee review of a foul on the sideline.
The other goal was initially credited to Paul Pogba before a panel of former coaches and players determined it actually came off a touch by Australia's Aziz Behich.
GUERRERO WATCH
One of the key questions for Peru will be how coach Ricardo Gareca uses the country's all-time leading scorer, Paolo Guerrero.
After having a doping ban lifted just before the start of the tournament, the 34-year-old striker came on as a substitute against Denmark and played well in about 30 minutes of action. He almost scored twice.
It's the kind of effort that could prompt Gareca to return Guerrero to a starting role for this match, which will determine whether Peru has a chance of advancing to the second round for the first time since 1978. Far from being discouraged about a heartbreaking opening loss to France, Australia is confident going into another tough World Cup match against Denmark.
The plucky underdog label seems to inspire the Socceroos.
Australia fell 2-1 to the French on Saturday in Kazan. But the scoreline didn't reflect the Australian team's gritty defensive performance against the 1998 World Cup champions and highest-ranked team in the group.
Australia coach Bert van Marwijk remained positive overall heading into today's match at Samara Stadium. "When you see this game you must have confidence for the rest of the tournament," van Marwijk said.
But it's an admittedly difficult journey. France and Denmark lead Group C with wins, while Peru rounds out the group.
Denmark, returning to the World Cup after missing out on Brazil, is coming off a 1-0 victory over Peru on Saturday in Saransk. Yuffus Poulsen, who plays for German club RB Leipzig, scored the lone goal.
The opening victory over Peru did have a cost: Starting midfielder William Kvist fractured two ribs and is likely to miss the rest of the tournament. Kvist was injured in a hard collision with Peru's Jefferson Farfan
Australian defender Trent Sainsbury spoke to the media in Kazan before heading to Samara, reinforcing the team's confident outlook going into the team's second match.
SIDE TRIP
Danish defender Jonas Knudsen made an unexpected side trip home following the victory over Peru. That's because wife Trine gave birth to the couple's daughter — who wasn't due for a few more weeks.
Knudsen's teammates funded the private plane to whisk him back to Denmark for a day to meet his child. He rejoined the team on Monday.
YOUNGEST
Australia midfielder Daniel Arzani is the youngest player at the World Cup, at 19 years and five months.
He said the magnitude of the occasion hit him when the boisterous yellow-clad Australian fans all sang the nation's national anthem before the match against France.
"Your heart is pumping through your chest and you realized the gravity of the situation — you're here representing the whole nation on the biggest stage," he said. "It is emotional but I'm also very proud to be a part of it."
STREAK
Denmark is unbeaten in its last 16 international matches. The last loss was in October 2016 against Montenegro (1-0 in Copenhagen).