Lucas Hernandez has successfully undergone surgery after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in France's 4-1 World Cup opening win against Australia on Tuesday.

Hernandez's club Bayern Munich confirmed he had the operation in Innsbruck on Thursday, with his rehabilitation to commence in Munich in the coming days.

The defender was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup due to the injury that saw him replaced after only 13 minutes.

Bayern did not provide a timeframe on Hernandez's recovery but it is expected he will miss the rest of the 2022-23 season.

Hernandez is the latest injury blow for the world champions, who saw Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku all ruled out before the tournament started.

France head coach Didier Deschamps said after Tuesday's game: "Like the whole group, players and staff, I am extremely sorry for Lucas.

"We are losing an important element. Lucas is a warrior and I have no doubt that he will do everything possible to return to the game.

"I know him well. Courage, he will have it, that's for sure. On behalf of the group, I wish him the best possible recovery."

Hernandez has made 11 appearances, including 10 starts, for Bayern this season, having missed six weeks with an adductor injury sustained in September.

Dani Alves believes Kylian Mbappe "has still not understood" the value of playing with "geniuses" Lionel Messi and Neymar in Paris Saint-Germain's attack.

Mbappe is the leading marksman in Ligue 1 this season with 12 goals – one more than Brazil international Neymar – while he is just 11 away from breaking Edinson Cavani's club record tally of 200.

However, the France international has only registered two assists in the French top flight this term, with Messi (10) and Neymar (nine) recording 19 between them.

Alves spent two years playing alongside Mbappe and Neymar in Paris, having also previously won multiple honours alongside the latter and Messi at Barcelona.

The Brazil full-back who, at 39, was handed a chance to become his nation's oldest World Cup player, feels the 23-year-old Mbappe's goalscoring exploits would be even greater should be pass to his team-mates more often.

"Neymar and Messi are unique, they see and do things that no one else sees or can do," Alves told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "You have to be smart to take advantage of their potential, they are the two geniuses of football.

"I think I can touch the ball well, but when I was playing with Leo, I was giving him the ball. And if I play with Ney, I give him the ball. If Mbappe gave the ball to those two, he would score 150 goals [in a season].

"A great player always has to know and understand who he is playing with. Your team-mates enrich your qualities.

"Mbappe is a phenomenon who has still not understood that those who play in attack with him are more phenomenal than him."

Ousmane Dembele says he has "matured" as a person and a player since France last the World Cup in 2018, following a victorious start to their title defence against Australia.

The Barcelona winger started as Didier Deschamps' side bounced back from an early Craig Goodwin finish to win 4-1 in Al Wakrah, thanks to an Olivier Giroud double and goals from Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe.

Having been an unused substitute four years ago as Les Bleus beat Croatia in  the final in Russia, Dembele is looking to play his part in what he hopes to be a successive World Cup triumph.

With his Blaugrana form having turned a corner after a prolonged saga over his future at the club, he feels he is in a stronger place to contribute now for the national team at Qatar 2022.

"There has been three difficult seasons with Barcelona," he stated. "When you look at the first two games [I played in] 2018 and this year there is a lot of difference.

"I have matured. I didn't have a healthy lifestyle as you can imagine, [though] it wasn't a party! But I'm a little older now, [at] 25."

France's recovery ensured they dodged an upset against Australia, but other heavyweight favourites have been less fortunate so far at the World Cup.

Argentina were stunned by lowly Saudi Arabia, while Germany, looking to recover from a chastening campaign in Russia, failed to stop a comeback from Japan.

Dembele says it leaves a warning that no match is easy at Qatar 2022, and that bigger sides write off theoretical underdogs at their peril.

"There are no small teams," he added. "Everyone knows how to play football, how to work on tactics. We saw that with Saudi Arabia.

"When you lower the intensity, you get trapped. But with our team, if we put all the ingredients together, we will not have to worry."

France are next in action when they play Denmark in Group D on November 26, before their final group stage match against Tunisia four days later.

Garang Kuol became Australia's youngest World Cup star on Tuesday but noted the "big difference" he must bridge in order to regularly rub shoulders with the likes of Kylian Mbappe.

Kuol, who at 18 years and 68 days old was the ninth-youngest player in the tournament's history, was brought on as a 73rd-minute substitute moments after the final goal in the Socceroos' 4-1 opening defeat to holders France.

The highly talented winger – already confirmed as a Newcastle United signing ahead of a January move – enjoyed a few bright touches yet saw a significant gap to his opponents.

Kuol did not start a single A-League game for Central Coast Mariners, although he scored six goals in 326 minutes from the bench.

Meanwhile, Mbappe was France's star man as they took the title in Russia 2018 four years ago and appears to be in the mood to repeat the feat.

"You could see the level that they're at," Kuol said afterwards.

"They're 6ft 4[in] people who are as quick as me, so there was a big difference between me and some of those players. Only hard work will get me to that level.

"I think it was a good taste to see the level the players are at. Some play in the Premier League, some play in the Champions League, so it was good to get that taste of the level."

Mbappe in particular was relentless after a slow start had seen Australia lead through Craig Goodwin in the ninth minute.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward scored the third goal before creating the fourth for Olivier Giroud, having also had a role in the second – again scored by Giroud.

Mbappe had 19 touches in the Australia box – the most by any player in a World Cup match since 1970 – and completed three dribbles.

Australia right-back Nathaniel Atkinson endured a torrid time, not helped by the introduction of attacking France left-back Theo Hernandez after his brother Lucas was injured attempting to prevent the Socceroos goal.

Atkinson was dribbled past twice and gave away possession on 12 occasions, including an error leading to France's second.

"It's obviously the first time I've come up against this type of opposition in my career," Atkinson said.

"Obviously, I've taken full responsibility for the second goal, but the beauty of the tournament is you can't dwell on it because you've got another game to fix it in three days.

"It's a good experience. It's an eye-opener. There's a reason [Mbappe] is earning 200million [Australian] dollars a year and I am where I am, but that's something to look forward to.

"It's good to come up against this calibre. You know what to work on. I know what to fix; I've played that scenario 50 times over and I could probably come up with 50 different solutions. That's football. I'm disappointed.

"It's just the physicality of the guy. The pace... it's not hidden how quick that guy is – you give him one step and he's gone.

"As a team, you can always come up with a plan, but sometimes if it's one-v-one and he gets the better of you, it's a learning curve.

"You can get your confidence up with getting a few challenges in, but there's a reason why he's one of the top three players in the world."

Australia are not giving up hope, inspired by Saudi Arabia's sensational defeat of Argentina earlier on Tuesday.

"Anything can happen," Atkinson added. "You see what Saudi did against Argentina.

"We've come up against the world champions, and there's a reason for that. They're a good footballing team. We can take confidence from the way we played early on in that game."

Lucas Hernandez will miss the rest of the World Cup, and likely the remainder of the season, after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

France were dealt a huge blow by injuries ahead of their campaign in Qatar, which began with a 4-1 rout of Australia on Tuesday.

Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku were all ruled out before the tournament started, and now Didier Deschamps has lost another key player.

Hernandez suffered the injury nine minutes into the win over Australia, as he went down clutching his right knee after being turned by Matthew Leckie in the build-up to Craig Goodwin's opening goal.

Deschamps and Hugo Lloris both conceded after the match that it did not look positive for the Bayern Munich defender, and France have now confirmed the 26-year-old's ruptured his ACL.

Given the extent of his injury, Hernandez will miss a chunk of the rest of the 2022-23 campaign when it resumes after the World Cup.

"Like the whole group, players and staff, I am extremely sorry for Lucas," said Deschamps.

"We are losing an important element. Lucas is a warrior and I have no doubt that he will do everything possible to return to the game.

"I know him well. Courage, he will have it, that's for sure. On behalf of the group, I wish him the best possible recovery."

Hugo Lloris fears Lucas Hernandez has suffered an "important injury", dealing France yet another blow as they bid to defend their World Cup crown.

France began their campaign with a 4-1 win over Australia on Tuesday but were without Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema, who were all ruled out of the tournament.

And left-back Hernandez was added to that injury list after he went down in attempting to stop Matthew Leckie's cross for Australia's shock opener.

The outlook does not look positive for the Bayern Munich defender, but France captain Lloris hopes his team-mates can rally as they have done before.

"It's never good to see one of your team-mates leaving the field in that way," he said. "I believe it's an important injury.

"He's not the first one, but we have to continue to look forward. Unfortunately we could not count on him, but we have a team with other players that we trust.

"We have to stay together and keep believing, keep our focus on that."

Lloris added: "We have important players left on the side for injuries, but luckily we have a lot of talented players in France, players we can trust, because they have the talent, the mentality and the desire to perform at the highest level.

"We try to create something special inside the team day by day. We try to enjoy the moment, not only on the pitch but also off the pitch.

"We have to take it game by game. Obviously it's a World Cup, there's no easy games and we have to be ready to face difficulties. When we face difficulties, we have to make sure that everybody raises their level."

The previous three holders have exited the World Cup at the group stage, but that sequence appears unlikely to be extended now.

Indeed, France's 4-1 win was the biggest in the first game of a title defence in World Cup history.

"We're obviously pleased with the result and pleased with the performance," Lloris said.

"I believe we had a good start in that game, but unfortunately we conceded that goal. We also lost one of our team-mates in this action by injury.

"But the team stayed calm, and we took control of the game and slowly started to dominate and created chances, then we scored one and two.

"Second half, I think we controlled perfectly. It's a good start."

Didier Deschamps has defended his decision to substitute Olivier Giroud in France's World Cup win over Australia, delaying his bid to become France's all-time leading goalscorer outright.

Giroud equalled Thierry Henry's record of 51 goals for France with a brace on Tuesday, helping Les Bleus fight back to post a 4-1 win in their Group D contest.

However, the striker was replaced by Marcus Thuram in the closing stages, meaning he will have to wait until Saturday's meeting with Denmark for another chance to seize the record for himself. 

Deschamps was defensive when asked why he withdrew Giroud in his post-match press conference, responding: "Would you like to take my place and be the coach? 

"Olivier Giroud did what he does best, he scored goals. You have to manage a lot of things as a coach.

"We have another match in four days and we'd already scored four goals, so sometimes it's good to give someone else a chance and give him a rest.

"You tend to talk about records a lot, he tends to focus on what he does on the pitch. 

"He was very effective tonight, which is great for him, he's useful with the way he links up with the other attackers in our team."

As well as claiming a slice of France history, Giroud – aged 36 years and 53 days – became the second-oldest player to score a World Cup brace, after Roger Milla did so twice at the 1990 tournament when 38 years old.

France initially looked unlikely to make a positive start to their World Cup defence, with Adrien Rabiot having to cancel out Craig Goodwin's opener before Giroud took centre stage.

Deschamps was pleased with Les Bleus' response to going behind after witnessing other sides fail to fight back in the tournament's opening round of fixtures.

"I think we began the match well, we linked up well in the first few minutes but we let in a goal which we should have avoided," Deschamps said.

"It was tough, but in the second half we showed a lot more confidence, we created a lot more chances and scored four goals, so of course that is good. We could have scored more, but it's a very good beginning.

"The first match is always vital, so I have to congratulate the team. We saw some earlier games where teams were unable to respond, but we did. We showed strength of character."

Tuesday began with one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history as Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1, but Deschamps said that surprise result had no bearing on France's approach.

"The players saw that match, but you have to focus on the opponent that's in front of you," he added.

Olivier Giroud feels "blessed" to have matched Thierry Henry's France goalscoring record with a brace against Australia that marked his first World Cup goals since 2014.

Giroud was a key part of the France side that won the title at Russia 2018, but he failed to score across seven matches.

The Milan striker's only previous World Cup goal had been the opener in a group-stage rout of Switzerland eight years ago, a meagre return from 12 appearances in the competition.

But Giroud never doubted himself, insisting after Tuesday's double in a 4-1 win he had not received the same level of chances in 2018.

He accrued 1.7 expected goals from five shots at Al Janoub Stadium, having had chances worth just 1.2 xG across the entirety of the previous World Cup.

"Not really," Giroud replied when asked if he was relieved. "I just try to bring what I can do to the team.

"When I get the opportunity, I try to always put it in the back of the net. This time, I couldn't miss, because I received great balls.

"If you watch the World Cup 2018, I didn't get as many chances as I would hope. Those were different kinds of games. It's very good for confidence for the next stage."

Giroud's second goal from a Kylian Mbappe cross was his 51st for France, matching Henry's record return.

"I don't like to speak about myself," Giroud said. "I will say that we started the competition well. It was massively important to win this first game.

"We started the game in not the best way, but we've shown a great character and we bounced back straight away, which was very important.

"Personally, obviously, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be next to Titi Henry now."

He added to TF1: "It's a source of great pride, I don't intend to stop there. I hope to continue in the competition so that I can help the team achieve our goal."

Didier Deschamps believes Kylian Mbappe is set for another memorable World Cup after he claimed a goal and an assist in France's 4-1 win over Australia, declaring: "It's his competition".

Mbappe became just the second teenager – after Pele in 1958 – to score in a World Cup final as France downed Croatia to win the tournament in Russia four years ago, and he made a strong start to this year's competition as Les Bleus claimed a comeback win.

Craig Goodwin handed Australia a surprise lead in Tuesday's Group D clash, but Mbappe built on first-half strikes from Adrien Rabiot and Olivier Giroud as France got off to a winning start.

At 23 years and 337 days old, Mbappe is now the youngest player to have scored five World Cup goals for France, and Deschamps expects him to go from strength to strength in Qatar. 

"Kylian has been one of the best players in the world for some time now, and he's feeling very confident," Deschamps said. "You can see that in the way he plays. He is calm and concentrated. 

"He has been in good form for quite some time. I knew he was going to be ready for this World Cup, it's his competition and he knows how to make the difference.

"He's always been able to play as part of a team, so that's great for us, and I've got a lot of attackers, but Kylian is, of course, an outstanding one."

France's victory ensured they became the first World Cup holders to make a winning start at the tournament since Brazil did so in 2006, while their current five-match winning run at the finals is their joint-longest such streak (also five across the 1986 and 1998 editions).

However, France's win was tarnished as they received yet another injury blow, with Bayern Munich's Lucas Hernandez limping out of the game in the aftermath of Australia's early goal.

Deschamps fears the defender may have sustained a serious injury, which could open the door for his brother Theo Hernandez to start Saturday's fixture against Denmark.

"With Lucas Hernandez, we're still waiting for the results of the tests, but I'm afraid it could be pretty serious," Deschamps said.

"It's true that Lucas' injury was a tough blow. I'll have to think about his replacement.

"You can't have three players for every position in your squad, but there is obviously Theo Hernandez and other alternatives."

Olivier Giroud equalled Thierry Henry's France goalscoring record as Les Bleus fought back to begin their World Cup defence with a 4-1 victory over Australia on Tuesday.

Having lost Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and others to injury during a chaotic build-up to the tournament, France suffered another blow when Craig Goodwin fired Australia into an early lead.

But the holders responded well, with the impressive Adrien Rabiot recording a goal and an assist – the latter for Giroud – during a first-half turnaround.  

Kylian Mbappe then made the points safe with a fine glancing header before teeing up Giroud to nod home his landmark 51st goal as France took control of Group D.

Goodwin side-footed Mathew Leckie's cross into the roof of the net after nine minutes in a dream start for Australia but a quickfire France double turned the game around.

Rabiot contributed to both goals, nodding home Theo Hernandez's deep cross after 27 minutes before his cut-back allowed Giroud to tap in.

The end of an entertaining first half featured clear chances at both ends, with Mbappe firing over from close range before Jackson Irvine headed against the post.

Giroud went close to a spectacular second when he sent an acrobatic effort wide shortly after the break, while Antoine Griezmann saw a shot cleared off the goalline as France continued to press.

France finally had a deserved third goal after 68 minutes, with Mbappe diverting Ousmane Dembele's cross in off the post to clinch the win.

Mbappe sent in a fine cross for France's fourth just three minutes later, but the moment belonged to Giroud as he powered a header beyond Mathew Ryan to earn a slice of Les Bleus history.

What does it mean? Champions make strong start

France approached Tuesday's match looking to buck the recent trend of slow starts from World Cup holders – the reigning champions had only started with a win at three of the last 12 tournaments (D4 L5).

Given their chaotic preparations and Australia's early opener, Didier Deschamps may have been fearing the worst, but Les Bleus were ultimately good value for their win, which saw them take control of Group D following Denmark's draw with Tunisia.

Giroud matches Henry

Had Real Madrid's Ballon d'Or-winning forward Benzema been fit to feature against the Socceroos, Giroud would likely have been the player to miss out on a place in Deschamps' team.

However, Giroud – who played a key role in France's 2018 heroics in Russia – helped himself to a brace to draw level with Henry's tally of 51 goals for his country, hitting that number in eight fewer caps than the Arsenal great.

Rabiot takes centre stage

Injuries to Pogba and his 2018 World Cup-winning midfield partner N'Golo Kante opened the door for Rabiot to assume a central role in Qatar, and he did not let France down in their Group D opener.

Rabiot took the game by the scruff of the neck before the break, becoming the first France player to both score and assist a goal on his World Cup debut since Christophe Dugarry against South Africa in 1998

What's next?

France take on Denmark in their next Group D game on Saturday, while Australia face Tunisia on the same day.

France saw their injury crisis deepen as Bayern Munich defender Lucas Hernandez was forced off early on in Tuesday's World Cup meeting with Australia.

Didier Deschamps' side arrived in Qatar looking to become the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, but their preparations for the tournament were hampered by fitness issues.

Having already lost 2018's World Cup-winning midfield duo Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante before naming their 26-man squad for the competition, France have seen their rotten luck continue.

Paris Saint-Germain defender Presnel Kimpembe was forced to withdraw from their squad after failing to recover from a hamstring injury, while RB Leipzig's in-form attacker Christopher Nkunku was ruled out of the tournament after he tore the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee.

The biggest blow was still to come for Les Bleus, as Ballon d'Or winning striker Karim Benzema – who was also absent from their triumphant 2018 campaign – was forced to leave their camp after sustaining a thigh injury in training.

Hernandez became the latest France international to be stricken nine minutes into their Group D clash with Australia, going down clutching his knee after being turned by Matthew Leckie in the build-up to Craig Goodwin's opening goal.

Having limped off the pitch to be replaced by his brother Theo Hernandez, the Bayern defender may now face a battle to be fit for France's fixtures against Tunisia and Denmark.

Argentina's World Cup hopes took a shuddering blow in their Qatar 2022 opener as they were sensationally beaten 2-1 by Saudi Arabia.

Having won the Copa America last year and embarked on a 36-match unbeaten run, La Albiceleste arrived in Qatar as one of the favourites to be crowned world champions.

Lionel Messi's penalty gave them an early lead in their first Group C match at Lusail Stadium, but second-half goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari ensured Saudi Arabia pulled off a huge upset.

Here, Stats Perform takes a look at five of the other monumental World Cup shocks over the years.

Senegal 1-0 France (Korea/Japan 2002)

Perhaps the all-time upset in World Cup history, France headed to the 2002 edition four years on from a triumph on home soil with a squad brimming with talent and set on defending their crown.

Yet in the opening match, Les Bleus - without talisman Zinedine Zidane - were stunned by Senegal, the competition's lowest-ranked side, thanks to Papa Bouba Diop's first-half finish in Seoul.

France went on to finish bottom of Group A with just a draw against Uruguay to their name, and failing to score a single goal.

North Korea 1-0 Italy (England 1966)

Arriving in Europe for their first appearance at the World Cup, North Korea were widely expected to make an early exit after a defeat to the Soviet Union and a draw with Chile.

But Pak Doo-ik made history when his lone goal saw them shock two-time winners Italy at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough.

North Korea have only been back to the World Cup once, at South Africa 2010, where they scored once and conceded a dozen, finishing bottom of Group G.

Cameroon 1-0 Argentina (Italy 1990)

This is not the first time La Albiceleste have been involved in one of the most unexpected results at a World Cup, having been stunned in the first match of their title defence over three decades ago.

Argentina arrived at Italia 90 looking to defend the crown Diego Maradona guided them to four years prior, but Francois Omam-Biyik's 67th-minute goal at San Siro left them shell-shocked.

USA 1-0 England (Brazil 1950)

Heading into their tournament debut in South America, England were fancied to make a big impact, particularly when they came up against a United States team dominated by part-timers.

But a goal for Joe Gaetjens made history for the USA, bringing England back down to earth after they started with a 2-0 win over Chile.

Walter Winterbottom's men were then on their way home after slumping to a 1-0 loss at the hands of Spain.

Northern Ireland 1-0 Spain (Spain 1982)

Fondly remembered four decades down the line, Northern Ireland's win against tournament hosts Spain ranks among the greatest in their history, as they defied the odds in Valencia.

Gerry Armstrong's goal early in the second half put then in front and although Mal Donaghy was shown a red card, Billy Bingham's team hung on to deliver an almighty upset.

France were many people's tip heading into Qatar 2022, having been so impressive when they lifted the World Cup four years ago.

On paper, they have the sort of team that would have most players of the FIFA 23 video game drooling, or at least, they did before injuries started to pile up.

Midfield pair Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante, both so crucial to their 2018 success, had already been ruled out, and in the days since head coach Didier Deschamps announced his squad, two more high-profile names have been forced to withdraw.

The loss of Christopher Nkunku was a blow despite the RB Leipzig forward being unlikely to start, his 48 goal involvements (37 goals and 11 assists) in 2022 only second to France team-mate Kylian Mbappe (57 - 43 goals and 14 assists) among players from Europe's top five leagues.

Then there was Karim Benzema's withdrawal, a significant one considering the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner scored a spectacular 44 goals in 46 games for Real Madrid in 2021-22, helping the Spanish giants win LaLiga and the Champions League.

However, if any nation can handle a double blow like that, it is surely France.

When it comes to the team selection in their opening clash with Australia, Deschamps will likely turn to the same trio he used at Russia 2018, with Mbappe alongside one or both of Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann.

Giroud has extra motivation, sitting just two behind Thierry Henry (51) as Les Bleus' all-time record goalscorer.

"Obviously I've got this target, this kind of bonus in my head to beat [Henry], but the main target as a team is to go as far as we can in the competition," the Milan striker said at a press conference on Friday.

France will need to improve on recent form though, having only won one of their six games in the UEFA Nations League in June and September (D2, L3).

Their first hurdle is an Australia team that only made it to Qatar by the skin of their teeth, needing a dramatic penalty shoot-out win against Peru in a play-off to advance.

Dancing substitute goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne was the hero that day, but head coach Graham Arnold will need inspiration from elsewhere if the Socceroos are to improve on their World Cup record.

They have been eliminated from the group stage in four of their five previous appearances, progressing only in 2006, when Arnold was assistant to Guus Hiddink.

Australia have won just 13 per cent of their matches at the World Cup (two of 16); only Bulgaria (12 per cent - three of 26) have a lower win rate among nations to play 10 or more games at the finals.

They have also suffered an injury blow of their own, with Martin Boyle pulling out after failing to recover from a knee problem. Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio has replaced him, and Arnold is backing the 21-year-old to step up.

"Marco has done everything that has been asked of him to be ready for this tournament," Arnold said. "He was an important member of our Tokyo 2020 Olympic team, he has started the A-League men's season well and he is familiar with the national team set-up and we are looking forward to what he can bring to our squad for the tournament."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

France - Kylian Mbappe

Losing players like Nkunku and Benzema is never a good thing, but the blow is softened when you can still turn to arguably the most electric attacker in world football.

Mbappe played a key role in France's World Cup success of 2018, scoring four goals in seven games in Russia. During the tournament, the young French star not only became his country's youngest ever goalscorer at a World Cup (19y 183d), but also, only the second teenager ever to score in a World Cup final after Brazilian icon Pele did so v Sweden in 1958.

He has also been near unstoppable for Paris Saint-Germain this season, with 19 goals in 20 games for the Ligue 1 giants.

Australia - Mat Ryan

Not just because Australia are likely to face a lot of shots against the world champions, but Ryan also brings experience that this side sorely need.

The former Valencia and Arsenal goalkeeper has not featured much for Copenhagen this season, with Kamil Grabara preferred, but he played all 11 of Australia's third and fourth-round matches in AFC qualifying for the World Cup.

Ryan is also set to appear in a third World Cup for Australia, the most of any goalkeeper for the nation. Should he feature in all three group games, he will move level with Mark Bresciano and Tim Cahill on nine World Cup appearances, the most for the Socceroos.

PREDICTION

Unsurprisingly, France are relatively overwhelming favourites to start with a win.

According to Stats Perform's AI model, Les Bleus have a 73.4 per cent chance of taking all three points, with Australia given just a 10.6 per cent chance.

The draw comes in at 16 per cent, which cannot be discounted given France's injuries and questionable form heading into Qatar.

Graham Arnold has refused to mention the names of France's star players, including Kylian Mbappe, ahead of Australia's clash against the World Cup holders.

The Socceroos meet Les Bleus for the second successive finals, with Paul Pogba's deflected late strike sealing a narrow 2-1 win for Didier Deschamps' side in Russia four years ago.

Australia head into their Group D opener having failed to register a clean sheet in 10 previous World Cup matches against European nations, with their only clean sheet at the finals against any opposition coming in a goalless draw against Chile in 1974.

But Arnold, who was the Socceroos' assistant to Pim Verbeek at the 2010 tournament in South Africa, has tried to ease the pressure on his players.

"It's not being disrespectful at all, but I've hardly mentioned the word France," he said. "And I've hardly mentioned any of the players' names because the players know who they are,

"It's one against one, it's 10 blue shirts against 10 yellow shirts, and it's a fight. That's what it is."

Mat Ryan, who is set to become the first Australia goalkeeper to appear at three World Cups, was between the sticks for that 2-1 defeat in 2018.

But despite the reverse, the Socceroos captain believes the experience will serve his side well four years later.

"[We] felt like we almost got a great result there against France, and we felt were quite unlucky," he reflected.

"Something that I learned that day, you've got to have the right amount of respect for the opposition, but don't be in awe of them or be overwhelmed too much.

"We're playing some very good players in a good team, but we're all human out there, and we've got a real good chance to win."

Didier Deschamps has asked for "more understanding" as France adjust to their latest injuries, but Les Bleus intend to go "full steam ahead" with the same objectives as before.

France were already without Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante for the World Cup and have now lost Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema on the eve of the tournament.

Deschamps' defending world champions head into their opener against Australia with uncertainty around much of their line-up, although the coach has "no worries at all" about Eduardo Camavinga's fitness and confirmed Raphael Varane is fit to start.

Asked on Monday if France would have to reconsider their approach to the finals, Deschamps disagreed, although he asked the assembled media for their support.

"It is full steam ahead with the team we have available to us," he said.

"Less ambition and less desire to do everything to get to the end? I don't think so. But if we could have more understanding from the media, if you could cut us a little more slack, that would be great.

"But we know what is asked of us. We are not counting our chickens before they are hatched, we know our three opponents ahead of us.

"We know Australia very well, but you haven't asked me anything about Australia. That's perfect."

Despite their difficulties, Deschamps says France have "no apprehension" and "no anxiety", even with the past three World Cup holders exiting in the first round.

"This is based on statistics, probability, facts, but I think each team has undergone their own journey to get where they are today," he said.

"It is up to us to have a squad that is aware of the objective of the first game. We're not going to think about what could have been.

"What is important is to focus on the first game against Australia. Everything before is on the sideline now.

"There is analysis that can be made, do with them what you will, but we will be ready for tomorrow."

In the absence of Benzema, Kylian Mbappe is set to have an even more prominent role, having starred in France's Russia 2018 success.

"[Mbappe] played an important role four years ago on the pitch," Deschamps said. "He was very mature at the time and is even more mature now because of what's gone on over the course of the past four years. There's been more global recognition, more responsibility.

"Obviously he has what it takes to stand out from the crowd, to score; his aura is second to none. This was the case four years ago, it still is the case now."

According to captain Hugo Lloris, Mbappe is "involved, relaxed, concentrated, focused".

Lloris was also asked about the OneLove captain's armband – a campaign that promotes "inclusion and sends a message against discrimination of any kind".

The France skipper had already confirmed he would not be wearing the armband, and it emerged shortly after his news conference other countries were backing out of the campaign following the threat of FIFA sanctions.

"FIFA is organising this competition," Lloris said. "It is therefore up to FIFA to put into place a regulatory framework.

"As players, we're here to play football and represent our teams to the best we can on a sporting front. I would prefer to stay in my box. I am a player and a competitor of this competition.

"Yes, there are many causes that are important and should be supported. They're commendable. But it's up to FIFA to take decisions with the organisation of the competition."