The world champions, shaken by injury and shorn of premium players, are up and running regardless.
On Tuesday, France began the defence of the crown they captured in the Moscow rain four and a half years ago, reeling still from a host of absentees to their 2022 crew, but then moved through the gears to see off Australia.
Perhaps they were stunned into action at Al Janoub Stadium. For Australia, to the surprise of many, scored first.
On nine minutes, Mathew Leckie squared across the French penalty area for Craig Goodwin to convert high beyond opposing captain Hugo Lloris.
Coming on the same day that Saudi Arabia upset Argentina with a victory for the ages, surely lightning could not strike twice? It didn’t.
Clearly keen to avoid a similar embarrassment, France hit back, twice in five minutes, either side of the half hour.
Substitute Theo Hernandez – his brother Lucas Hernandez looked to have badly injured his knee and could not continue – crossed perfectly for Adrien Rabiot, who headed home.
Rabiot, maybe in the side only because N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba had fitness issues and did not make the squad, then became the provider.
Nathaniel Atkinson was robbed of possession on the Australia right, Kylian Mbappe flicked to Rabiot, who rolled across the ball for Olivier Giroud to tap home.
It was his 50th international goal; one behind France's all-time leading goalscorer, Thierry Henry.
In first-half injury time, Mbappe should have made it three, but with the goal gaping, uncharacteristically failed to prod home Antoine Griezmann’s centre.
Then, Australia struck the woodwork, with McGree crossing to Jackson Irvine, whose awkwardly executed header glanced off the upright.
It was as close as Graham Arnold’s men would get. After the break Mbappe turned on the afterburners. Having begun to torment his rivals, on 68 minutes the forward found his way through.
The Paris Saint-Germain star, stationed on the left, had flashed a cross-cum-shot over to the opposite flank, but stayed alive to meet Ousmane Dembele’s inch-perfect cross and head home.
Now heavily involved in seemingly everything, it was Mbappe’s delightful cross that have Giroud a gift to pull level with Henry.
The towering AC Milan striker obliged, powering his header beyond Mat Ryan in the Australia goal. Ryan and teammates still had at least 19 minutes to survive.
They were grateful, then, that Mbappe miscontrolled when he played in, and that Didier Deschamps withdrew Giroud shortly before the end, despite him being on a hat-trick.
And they were grateful to Ryan, who saved excellently from Ibrahima Konate.
France had to settle for four, just as they did in the rain in Moscow in 2018.
Tellingly, they showed they are more than Kante and Pogba, Presnel Kimpembe, Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema – the recent Ballon d’Or winner. Much more, in fact.
Even if Australia were poor. And especially, because the world champions have Mbappe.
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
![November 16, 2021. Finland 0 France 2 (Benzema 66', Mbappe 76'): Substitute Karim Benzema combined with Mbappe for the opening goal while the prolific PSG striker followed on from his four against Kazakhstan with another in Helsinki. "We wanted to finish on a high and we're happy we did it," said Benzema. "Now we're looking forward to the World Cup. With the team we have it's natural to think about [winning] it." AFP](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/WFWBZXMNK7D7CQB36VZSIEGBJA.jpg?smart=true&auth=221980918ada744e0373ed2a7e53bf03fe40105f1af5e79c0973166f02fc55f2&width=800&height=450)
