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Li Hang: World Cup Group D preview (France, Australia)

author:Racing cats

France

Li Hang: World Cup Group D preview (France, Australia)

Challenge the spell

In the last 20 years, the defending champions have been a spell to be out of the group, and the only Brazil to avoid the curse only reached the last eight at the 2006 World Cup. France, Italy, Spain and Germany have all written a piece of shame in their respective team histories, with France being the initiator of this spell. At the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, France finished bottom of the group stage with 1 draw and 2 defeats. Twenty years later, the reigning champions France have a large pool of extremely talented players, and since the spell was started by them, the Frenchman wants to end with them. In addition to the reigning champion's group stage curse, the "Gallic Roosters" also have to challenge the reigning curse, which only Italy and Brazil have ever defended at the World Cup in history, and no team has been able to do so in the last 60 years.

Manager: Deschamps

Four years ago on a rainy night in Moscow, Deschamps led France to a 4-2 victory over Croatia to lift the Hercules Cup for the second time in the team's history, thus becoming the third legend in history to win the World Cup as both a player and a coach, the first two being Zagallo and Beckenbauer. As a player, Deschamps won the World Cup and European Championships with France, when he captained the team and was the first to lift the gold cup.

Since taking office after Euro 2012, Deschamps has coached France for more than 10 years, playing 132 games and recording 84 wins, 27 draws and 21 defeats, a win rate of 63.64%. Deschamps is a practical manager, and despite his countless talents, he won the World Cup based on defensive counter-attacks and never attacked to suppress opponents. And in the many competitions of the national team, Deschamps used many of them for training, and if he lost, he lost, which is no big deal. Deschamps said in an interview: "Defending the World Cup title is a very difficult thing to do, but we came to Qatar to do it. ”

Core: Mbappe

After the 2018 World Cup, Mbappe endured a bad European Championship, not only did he not finish nothing, but he also missed a penalty in the quarter-final against Switzerland, which led to an early exit for France. At the club, Mbappe has also experienced a lot of controversy, he first "posed" Real Madrid, making the world's best club wait for a season. This was followed by a farce with Neymar in Grand Paris, and not long ago, there were rumors that "Mbappe plans to leave Paris in a dissatisfied situation".

In terms of competitive state, Mbappe's performance this season is far inferior to last season, he has scored a lot of goals, but there are many fewer assists, and there are many more shots that waste great opportunities, especially Neymar's heel second pass after several people, Mbappe failed to grasp it, and was dubbed "criminal waste" by netizens. In France, the 23-year-old has scored 28 goals in 59 appearances, placing him in the top 10 of the team's all-time goalscorers. For "Mr. Mu", who has always aimed for the Golden Ball, playing well in the World Cup is a necessary condition

Third-line reviews (out of 10)

Forward: 10 points

Deschamps took seven strikers to Qatar, not to mention Mbappe's ability, Giroud and Griezmann were also the heroes of the last World Cup, the former has scored 49 goals in the national team, just two goals away from the all-time record holder Henry, Griezmann's form is slowly recovering, he is the team's third goal scorer (42 goals). Benzema has returned to the national team in good form, with the new Ballon d'Or winner almost certain to secure a starting spot. Nkunku, who is a big hit in the Bundesliga, is expected to be a surprise player in the forward line.

Midfielder: 9 points

The last French team won the championship, the midfield combination of Kante and Pogba contributed a lot, but both of them missed Qatar due to injury, Deschamps can only use Gondozzi, Joan Armeni, Camavinga, Fofana these newcomers, relatively experienced are Velletu and Rabiot, but neither of them has participated in the World Cup. Overall, the French midfielder has no shortage of talent, and experience can become a hard injury.

Defense: 9 points

The 36-year-old has been in average form at Tottenham this season, having made 139 appearances for the national team, just three games away from all-time record Thuram, and it is no surprise that he will become the most featured player in the world's history during the World Cup. Of the four defenders in the last World Cup, only Umtiti missed Qatar, Varane went on injured and Lucas Hernandez and Pavard were in normal form. Saliba, who has been outstanding at Arsenal, is expected to occupy a regular position, as well as in Palmecano.

Overall score: 28 points

Main lineup forecast (433)

Goalkeeper: Lowry

Defenders: Lucas Hernandez, Saliba, Varane, Pavard

Midfielders: Joan Armeni, Rabiot, Gondozi

Forwards: Nkunku, Benzema, Kylian Mbappe

X-factor: infighting

I believe everyone still remembers the "off-field performance" of the French team in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where the thorn headed by Anelka pointed at the then coach Domenech, which eventually led to another 1-draw and 2-loss dismal exit in the French group stage. In this French team, Giroud and Mbappe, Giroud and Benzema have some festivities, Benzema has been blacklisted by many media because of the previous incident with Valbiena, and once there are negative rumors surrounding him in this tournament, Mr. Ballon d'Or will soon be "settled". Fortunately, manager Deschamps is highly respected in the French team, and under his control, there should be no big problems in the dressing room.

Australia

Li Hang: World Cup Group D preview (France, Australia)

Tough kangaroo

This World Cup has already set a number of firsts, the first time the World Cup has been held in the northern hemisphere winter, the first time it has been held in the Arab world, and the first time as many as six Asian teams have participated. The reason for this is that Australia eliminated Peru from South America in a penalty shootout in the World Cup intercontinental play-offs, and this is the fifth consecutive World Cup participation of the Kangaroos. Compared with the peak period, this Australian team now lacks star flavor, and the overall strength is worrying, but they still have the usual toughness, and no one dares to underestimate it.

Manager: Arnold

As a player, Alexander-Arnold was an excellent striker, scoring 19 goals in 56 appearances for the Australian national team, and he also played in the Eredivisie and the Bianliga, where he had a good goal percentage. Since becoming a coach, Alexander-Arnold has coached two Australian Premier League teams, the Central Shore Mariners and Sydney FC. This is his second time in charge of the Australian national team, the first time after the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when the Netherlands coach Hiddink left and Alexander-Arnold took over with a record of 6 wins, 4 draws and 5 defeats in 15 games.

The coach was still taken after the World Cup, with the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and the elimination of the Australian group stage, Dutchman Van Marwijk then leaving, and Alexander-Arnold had a chance to prove himself. Alexander-Arnold played 33 games with a record of 23 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats, with a win rate of 69%. It has to be said that Arnold's 26-man squad this time does not have his son-in-law Sainsbury, who lost the selection because of his poor athletic form. It is not difficult to see from this that Arnold is very professional and does not shy away from his relatives.

Core: Mooy

This is a midfielder familiar to Chinese fans, he has a good talent, was once selected by Manchester City, although he did not have a chance to play for the Blue Moon, his versatility has improved greatly, and he has subsequently played in the Premier League in both Huddersfield Town and Brighton. After a special stint at Shanghai SIPG, Mooy joined Premier League giants Celtic this summer. In the current Australian midfield, Mooy, who scored seven goals in 53 appearances, has the most experience. He and Jackson Irving were the only two midfielders to have played in the last World Cup. Given Australia's strong group opponents, Mooy's possession and long passes in midfield will be very important.

Third-line reviews (out of 10)

Forward: 7.5 points

Alexander-Arnold chose 8 strikers to Qatar, 5 of them from the Australian Premier League, Mabil plays for Cádiz in La Liga, he is also the only player in the team to play in the five major leagues, Mitchell Duke even plays in the Japanese secondary league, the ability can be imagined...

Midfielder: 7.5 points

Australia's midfielders all play in the Europa League, with the exception of Mooy, Bachus and DeVrin, who also play in the Soviet Premier League, and both have only made one appearance for the national team. Verona's Hrustic is another player in the squad who has played in the Big Five leagues. McQuarie, who plays for Middlesbrough in the Championship, is expected to occupy a regular position.

Defense: 7.5 points

Matthew Ryan, the captain's main goalkeeper, has worked hard in Europe for many years, playing for well-known teams such as Valencia and Arsenal, and currently plays for Danish superpowerhouse Copenhagen. In front of Ryan, Bešic, Degnek, Bailly Wright and Soutar are relatively good players with good ability and experience.

Overall score: 22.5 points

Main lineup forecast (4141)

Goalkeeper: Matthew Ryan

Defenders: Bešic, Soutar, Bailly Wright, Nathan Neil Atkinson

Midfielders: Boyle, Mooy, Hrustic, Owen, Mabil

Forward: Duke

X-factor: Foul

Due to the roughness of the technical and tactical level, Australia can only raise the physical confrontation to the highest intensity, facing teams such as France and Denmark that are excellent individually and overall, Australia will have a lot of fouls, and if you are not careful, you may have a yellow or even a red card. With Australia's fighting power, they can't withstand the blow of a player being sent off, and if that happens, they are basically certain to lose.

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