France beats Australia 4-1 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

Olivier Giroud (Biser Todorov, Wikimedia Commons)

Australia had its first game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday, and were beaten 4-1 by France. Olivier Giroud (pictured left) of AC Milan was the French hero as he scored twice (the 32nd and 71st minutes). The other two French goal scorers were Adrien Rabiot of Juventus (27th minute) and Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain (68th minute).

The Aussies actually got off to a sensational start as Adelaide United forward Craig Goodwin scored the opening goal in the ninth minute before the French offensive onslaught. Giroud meanwhile scored his 50th and 51st international goals for France. He is now tied with Thierry Henry for the most French international goals ever.

This was the second straight World Cup that Australia played France. Four years ago, Australia opened the tournament against France, but lost 2-1 in Kazan, Russia. The lone Australian goal scorer was Mile Jedinak, who is currently a development coach for Aston Villa. Jedinak, in fact, scored the only two Australian goals at the World Cup in Russia, as he also scored the game-tying goal in a 1-1 tie against Denmark.

The shocker of the day was Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win over Argentina. The Saudi Arabia goal scorers were Saleh Al-Shehri  and Salem Al-Dawsari, who both play for Al-Hilal. Prior to Tuesday, Argentina had a 36 match unbeaten streak, and were considered an elite contender to win the third World Cup in the country’s history.

There were two other games on Tuesday, and both games resulted in 0-0 ties. The first game without a goal was Tunisia and Denmark, and the second game without a goal was Poland and Mexico. In the Poland/Mexico game, Polish star Robert Lewandowski, who currently plays for FC Barcelona after a brilliant nine years with Bayern Munich, had a penalty kick stopped by Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.