Jean-François Pérès, edited by Laura Laplaud 2:52 p.m., November 22, 2022

Only a few hours left before the start of the France-Australia match in the World Cup.

Despite the major absentees from this World Cup (Kanté, Pogba, Benzema...) and the last poor results of Didier Deschamps' men, the Blues remain united and aim for a first victory as in 2018 against Australia.

This is the big day.

The French football team will face Australia on Tuesday evening for its first World Cup match in Qatar.

Despite the last-minute absence of Karim Benzema and the latest results from Didier Deschamps' men, who remain on a single victory in six matches, the signals remain good.

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Welded Blues

Among the great absentees from this World Cup, N'Golo Kanté, Paul Pogba and the Ballon d'Or 2022, Karim Benzema.

However, the faces are not heavy.

On the contrary, the atmosphere remains good at the French team's training camp and the players continue to have fun.

"Benzema, unfortunately it's an episode that upset us all. But you know, there are 25 players", testifies Noël Le Graët, president of the French Football Federation, who says he has full confidence in the team.

"It is obvious that the speech must be addressed to those who remain wishing that Benzema recovers as soon as possible. But we still have quality players, look at our team, they all play in big clubs. We will try to please all the people who follow the France team and who love football," he said.

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"The group has a lot of qualities", underlines Wendie Renard

Pleasing the supporters is the watchword of the Blues against an Australian team which we will still have to be wary of.

Four years ago, Didier Deschamps' men started the competition against this same opponent.

The world champions then won only 2-1 against these Australians on a blocked shot from Paul Pogba.

Australia, which remains a minor nation in football, ranked 38th in the world rankings, is also a team that has trained hard.

French international footballer Wendie Renard, a Europe 1 consultant, remains optimistic and confident.

"The group has a lot of qualities and it will be up to them, from the first minutes, to simply love the competition and get into it properly. Offensively, we have what we can do and defensively, we must remain united, very compact, in putting the aggressiveness right. It's our turn to do well in this competition and win these three points."