The holy grail of sport, the FIFA World Cup, has graced us once again to give the fans of the world game a chance to celebrate football of the highest calibre.
A game not many football traditionalists would have had in their sights was that of competition heavyweights and genuine title contenders France taking on the Socceroos of Australia in the opening Group C match of the competition.
For Les Bleus, ranked seventh in the world, this fixture was meant to be a training run, a simple walk in the park to get their title campaign off to the red-hot start 99 per cent of the world thought they would. The combined financial worth of this French squad was $1.68 billion, a slight disparity to that of the Socceroos, who weighed in at a ‘measly’ $76 million.
Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele – world-class athletes and supremely talented footballers. This French side meant business, but there was just one issue: nobody told the Socceroos that.
A sold-out stadium greeted the two nations in Kazan. An abundance of blue, red and white contrasted against proud splurges of green and gold.
From the opening whistle it was clear for all to see that the French side hadn’t left their intent in the changerooms. After five minutes of play they had already peppered Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan on three separate occasions. It took the Aussies almost eight minutes before they had completed three passes in possession.
But how long could the Australians hold out to what seemed to be heading towards an inevitable opening goal? Ten minutes ticked passed, then 20, then 30. Hang on, it’s still 0-0.
Wave after wave, the Socceroos repelled the French attacks and reset their defences for another barrage. Rinse and repeat. All of a sudden, the whistle sounded for the interval and the scoreline still read 0-0.
(Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
But this French mob wouldn’t surrender. The star-studded line-up came out after oranges with a point to prove and continued their impressive ball movement from the get-go. Time after time we saw the Aussie defenders Josh Risdon, Mark Milligan and Trent Sainsbury throw everything at the French midfielders as they catapulted forward for their attacking line, putting their bodies on the line again and again.
Eventually something had to give. A sleek bit of play from the French saw a ball put through for Griezmann at the edge of the 18-yard box. Risdon turns and slide tackles. Griezman goes down.
“Play on!”, screams the referee, much to the shock and bemusement of the men in blue.
However, the introduction of the video assistant referee system steps in and tells the referee to reassess his decision for the first time in World Cup history. After a minute or two the referee returns to the field and blows his whistle, arm outstretched at the penalty spot, indicating a penalty to France.
Griezmann steps up and calmly slots it into the side netting.
1-0.
Devastation for the thousands of Australians in the stadium and the 24 million at home.
Yet even after a deflating setback like that the Australian players heads stay up. The support and encouragement on the pitch almost seems to grow and the substitutes continue to rally their peers from the pine.
(Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Play resumes and the Australians take the ball into the French half for what seems to be the first time in the match. A cross is swung in and glances the head of a French player, such was your scribe’s first impression, but a plethora of Socceroos hands are thrust into the air demanding a penalty awarded for handball.
The referee raises the whistle to his lips and performs the same act as he did just moments earlier. Penalty!
Australian captain Mile Jedinak. Ball on spot. Whistle blows. Ball to the right. Goalkeeper to the left.
1-1.
What seemed to be an impossible task for the determined Aussies is now back on track. There are few words from the Frenchmen, just bemusement. How can this be happening?
The game goes on with 30 minutes still to play, victory anyone’s for the taking. The Australians, full of confidence, begin to chance their arm a little more than in the opening stanza of the game. The underdogs are giving it their all here, but can they do it?
With 79 minutes gone a fast one-two from Pogba to a fellow attacker sees the ball precariously placed in Australia’s 18-yard box. Socceroos defender Aziz Behich, careful not to give away a penalty as Risdon did so before, lunges at the ball. Pogba’s right foot, swinging towards the target, connects with the ball, which takes a deflection off Behich and dips over, catching out goalkeeper Mat Ryan, hitting the crossbar and dropping into the Australian goal.
2-1.
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The Socceroos had seemingly performed the impossible by coming back from a goal down, but to perform this act would require something truly special. As much as they may have tried, it wasn’t to be for the fighting Australians, 2-1 the final score.
A fighting effort from the Socceroos against one of the world’s best, which would have left no Australian unhappy with their effort. A performance full of courage, determination and tenacity.
A performance full of heart.
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