France seek thumping win over Australia

Eriksen set to come of age as Denmark play Peru

KAZAN, Russia, June 14, (RTRS): France head into their World Cup opener against Australia in Kazan on Saturday sweating on the fitness of fullback Djibril Sidibe and under pressure to deliver an emphatic win to erase doubts about the cohesion of a team of brilliant individuals.

Monaco right back Sidibe has been battling to recover from a knee injury, putting a query over one of the few positions in which France lacks ample depth.

Six-cap defender Benjamin Pavard, who has played mostly as a centre back for Bundesliga side Stuttgart, is likely to fill the role on his World Cup debut against a Socceroos side that is something of an unknown quantity under new coach Bert van Marwijk.

There is further uncertainty over the make-up of France’s forward line for the Group C encounter at Kazan Arena, with coach Didier Deschamps facing tough choices on his front three.

He fielded experienced Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud with the substitutes team in training on Wednesday, suggesting explosive 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele could form a powerful trio with Antoine Griezmann.

Having captained Les Bleus to the 1998 World Cup triumph on home soil, Deschamps knows a thing or two about global success and is blessed with one of the strongest squads among the 32 in Russia.

Their sheer depth of talent has made them among the tournament favourites, yet scepticism lingers over the manager’s ability to get the best out of his stars.

Barring Mbappe’s goal in the 1-1 draw against the United States, there was little to like about France’s disjointed play in their last warmup match and Australia will offer a tougher proposition than the Americans, according to Deschamps.

Australia will also be desperate for a positive start, given their last two World Cup campaigns in Brazil and South Africa were all but ruined by first-match drubbings.

On paper, they are paupers to France’s footballing royalty, have little firepower up front and their modest defence faces a huge task to fend off their opponents’ raids.

Dutchman Van Marwijk, meanwhile, has had only a handful of games to imprint his gameplan on the group’s lowestranked side.

Although they thrashed Czech Republic 4-0 in their penultimate warmup before Russia, their scratchy 2-1 win over Hungary in their last start may be a better pointer to their form, the side still grappling with transition from defence to attack.

Despite all that, the Socceroos have assembled in Kazan with no shortage of bravado.

They worked hard in their pre-tournament camp in Turkey to build fitness and structure, and maximise their hopes of emerging from a tough group featuring 11th-ranked Peru and 12thranked Denmark.

A result against France looks fanciful, but if they are within touch late in the second half, look for Van Marwijk to inject 38-year-old striker Tim Cahill, who is bidding to become only the fourth player ever to score at four World Cups.

Denmark playmaker Christian Eriksen was a callow teenager mostly confined to the bench at his first World Cup in South Africa, but eight years later he will carry his country’s hopes on his shoulders as they kick off against Peru on Saturday.

Mbappe

Making their return to the World Cup finals after a 36-year absence, the South Americans will provide a stern test for Age Hareide’s Denmark side, and with France installed as Group C favourites, neither team will want to drop points at this early stage.

Having missed out on the finals in Brazil in 2014, Tottenham Hotspur’s Eriksen has developed into the complete playmaker for club and country, and it was his hat-trick in a stunning 5-1 playoff demolition of Ireland that secured Denmark’s berth at the World Cup.

The Irish managed to keep him under wraps in the away leg in Copenhagen, but in Dublin he ran riot with a man-of-the-match performance.

He topped the scoring charts in qualifying for Denmark with 11 goals. While he is surrounded by attacking talent for the national team, it is the 26-year-old Tottenham man that keeps Denmark ticking over.

He reinforced his importance in the run-up to Russia as the Danes failed to find the net against Sweden while he was at home awaiting the birth of his first child.

On his return, he scored one goal and made another in a 2-0 win over Mexico that served as a dress rehearsal for their World Cup opener.

Under Norwegian coach Hareide, Denmark have become more direct, preferring to move the ball up the field quickly and establish their attack from there, rather than passing it out from the back as they did under Morten Olsen.

The rugged style of centre back pairing Simon Kjaer and Andreas Christensen served them well against the Irish.