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France trounce Australia 4-1 to begin World Cup defence

Olivier Giroud scores twice to become France's joint record scorer as they fight back to put Australia to the sword, opening their World Cup defence with a Group D win.

Reuters

Henry scored 51 times in 123 games for France. Giroud, 36, equalled the mark on his 115th international appearance.

Olivier Giroud has scored twice as World Cup holders France recovered from the shock of going behind to thump Australia 4-1 in their opener in Qatar.

Veteran striker Giroud drew level with Thierry Henry's all-time record of 51 goals for France and Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe also scored on Tuesday, after Australia took a surprise ninth-minute lead through Craig Goodwin.

#FifaWorldCup Full-time results:#FRA 4 - 1 #AUS

Goalscorers: Rabiot, Giroud x2, Mbappe & Goodwin#Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/NxFz1HR9PQ
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) November 22, 2022

Australia had taken a stunning lead at Al Janoub Stadium when Goodwin applied a super finish to Mathew Leckie's cross after nine minutes, but France levelled when Adrien Rabiot headed home and Giroud's tap-in gave them the halftime lead.

Kylian Mbappe's glancing header in the 68th minute was followed by Giroud's 51st international goal three minutes later, drawing him level with Thierry Henry as France's all-time top marksman.

Didier Deschamps' side, who lead the Group D after rivals Denmark and Tunisia drew 0-0 earlier on Tuesday, ended a run of poor starts for World Cup holders, after the previous three — Italy, Spain and Germany — all failed to win their openers.

SOURCE: AFP