FRANCE romped to glory at Russia 2018 but don't look at their imperious best as they prepare to kick off their FIFA World Cup title defence against Australia in Qatar.
Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante, the beating heart of their midfield, won't play any part due to injury and Karim Benzema is also now out after picking up a thigh problem in training.
If losing such key players wasn't bad enough, France's form has also been poor as they crashed out of Euro 2020 to Switzerland in the last 16 then finished below Croatia and Denmark in their latest Nations League group.
But Didier Deschamps still has a squad packed with talent and with Kylian Mbappe leading their attack, our man Mark fancies them to go all the way once more. I've got my doubts about that but Les Bleus should certainly have too much firepower for the Socceroos in this Group D opener.
Australia could only finish third in their qualifying group behind Saudia Arabia and Japan then squeezed into the finals after beating Peru on penalties in the play-offs.
Few of Graham Arnold's squad play at the highest level in Europe, with 17 of them plying their trade in the A-League, Scotland's top flight or the lower leagues in England.
It looks like they face a battle with Tunisia to avoid finishing bottom of the group but the Aussies will give it their all against the holders and will hope to catch France off guard.
How the bookies view it
Highbet make France 11/50 hot favourites and Australia are as big as 12/1 with William Hill. Even the draw is pretty huge at 5/1 with Betfred.
Head to head
These sides faced off at the last World Cup and France were given a scare, needing a late own goal from Aziz Behich to scrape a 2-1 win. Australia have beaten the French just once in five meetings, a 1-0 triumph at the Confederations Cup in 2001.
Players to watch
With Benzema joining Christopher Nkunku on the sidelines, a heavy burden will fall on Mbappe's shoulders at the World Cup. The PSG superstar is odds-on everywhere for anytime scorer but is 31/10 at Highbet to break the deadlock. He's also 9/2 at SkyBet to score two goals or more.
Awer Mabil is one of the few Aussies operating at the highest level as he plays for Cadiz in La Liga. The winger has eight goals from 29 caps and is 19/2 with Unibet to stun France.
Anything else catch the eye?
I'd expect Australian coach Arnold to park the bus and ask his players to put the boot in as they bid to frustrate the French. That makes corners and cards a good option for punters.
Highbet have France -3.5 in the corner handicap at 5/4 and that looks good value while over 6.5 French corners is 27/20 with Unibet. Over 3.5 cards also appeals at 71/50 with Highbet and Dundee United full-back Behich looks good at 11/4 with BoyleSports to be carded.
Two penalties were awarded when these sides faced off at Russia 2018 and it could pay to back another one here, especially with VAR and the handball rule resulting in so many spot-kicks. William Hill price a penalty being awarded at 2/1.
This World Cup match between France and Australia will be played on Nov 22, 2022 and kick off at 19:00. Check below for our tipsters best France vs Australia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
