Defending champions, France had to come from a goal down to complete a 4-1 comeback victory against Australia in their opening game at the Al Wakrah stadium.

Didier Deschamps’ men fell behind early on when Matthew Leckie teed Goodwin to finish high into the net. The French team rallied back with a superb team performance.

France found a leveller with 27 minutes on the clock when a cleared corner fell to Theo Hernandez who replaced his injured brother Lucas, and his cross was headed home by Adrien Rabiot from mere yards out.

Rabiot who refused to be placed on the stand by list in the last Worlds Cup édition in Russia, then turned provider to give Giroud his 50th goal in French colors, and it was 2-1 at the break.

Just after the break, Giroud came close with an acrobatic overhead kick which licked the paint of Mat Ryan’s upright. Midway through the second half, Mbappe headed home from Ousmane Dembele’s cross to make it 3-1 for the Les Bleus.

With 70 minutes of action played, Giroud then tied Thierry Henry’s record as France’s all-time scorer with a header of his own from an Mbappe cross in the minutes that followed Les the third.

Reacting to his new record, the AC Milan striker said ; “It is an immense pride of course to be able to match Titi (Thierry Henry) who is a legend of French football. It’s an honor. I hope not to stop there during the competition. I still hope to help my partners and finish their job well” Giroud said to TF1.

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