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With the Qatar FIFA World Cup less than two months away, coaches are assessing which players to select for their squads.
Graham Arnold will have a very small pool of players to choose from, quite the opposite to group opponents France.
The French could field three or four entirely different sides and still be very competitive – man for man Australia is no match for the World Cup champions.
However, the strength of the Socceroos’ qualification was the unity and closeness of the squad.
That’s one thing that French coach Didier Deschamps still has not been able to get right with his talented charges.
The French were rocked again recently by another scandal, involving two of the biggest names in world football – Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé.
French newspaper L’Équipe ran a story alleging that Pogba paid a witch doctor to cast an injury spell on Mbappe.
If these allegations are proven true Mbappé has made it clear that he will not play with Pogba ever again – leaving Didier Deschamps to choose between the team’s two linchpins.
(Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
In what has been a horror week for Pogba, news also broke about a gang who repeatedly have tried to blackmail the superstar for $18.8 million over the course of his time living in Manchester and Turin.
Pogba has informed investigators that this gang, which also has ties to his own brother, are trying to discredit him and made up the witch doctor curse on Mbappé.
The 2022 World Cup will be Deschamps’ last time in charge of the national team before another legend of world football, Zinedine Zidane, takes the reins.
Deschamps’ tenure will be remembered more so with the difficulty of trying to control the egos of his star players rather than the side’s success.
Karim Benzema was welcomed back into the fold after being excluded for several years due to an X-rated tape involving a former teammate.
There was the fighting at Euro 2020, where a bust-up in the stands between the families of Pogba, Adrien Rabiot, and Mbappe made even the most composed lip-reader blush.
But behind closed doors is where the ego of problem child Mbappe is out of control.
Mbappe was incredibly jealous of the influence teammate Antoine Griezmann has within the squad and voiced his disapproval on Benzema being selected for the squad after five years in exile.
Striker Oliver Giroud in a memorable interview accused Mbappe of purposely not passing the ball to him and Mbappe’s sulking demeanour was reported to have upset several high-ranking senior players of the squad, including Hugo Lloris and Steve Mandanda.
The French were also furious at their accommodation and players were caught on multiple times in training and matches arguing with each other.
There is no denying that Kylian Mbappe is one of the greatest players in the generation after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but his petulance only keeps increasing.
He led Real Madrid on a merry chase for the better part of a year, before signing one of football’s wealthiest contracts with PSG that gives him a say in team selection as well as transfers.
Mbappe is currently embroiled in a row with KFC for refusing to take part in the national team’s promotional duties with the fast food chain.
Other French players who are key in the recent drama are experiencing less than stellar club seasons prior to the World Cup.
Paul Pogba is in a race against time to be fit, Rabiot has been offered to many clubs in Europe without any takers, and Griezmann is being frozen out of his club side so they can avoid signing him permanently.
The Socceroos have every reason to be optimistic, especially with the conditions in Qatar that they have become accustomed to – compared to their highly fancied opponents.
They can take solace knowing that France has a history of starting slowly in tournaments and more often than not self-imploding.
With the opening World Cup match less than 60 days away, it’s only a matter of time before more dirty laundry from the French players is aired in public.
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