Olivier Giroud starts up front in place of the missing Karim Benzema as World Cup holders France begin their defence of the trophy against Australia at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar on Tuesday. Veteran AC Milan striker Giroud benefits from the withdrawal of Ballon d’Or winner Benzema, who was forced to pull out of the France squad on the eve of the tournament with a thigh injury. Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann will all support Giroud in attack for the reigning world champions in the Group D clash. Manchester United’s Raphael Varane is not risked in central defence having not played in a month due to a leg injury. That means Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate and Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano, who have a total of nine caps between them, will play together at the back. More details here...
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