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Attacker Craig Goodwin says Australia will enjoy being the underdog in their 2022 FFIA World Cup opener against France, despite injury concerns surrounding one of the team’s most key attacking threats.
Goodwin and the rest of the Socceroos finally all arrived together on Tuesday night for the first time since the World Cup.
The underdog against France
Hibernian winger Martin Boyle has missed the past 2 days of training because of a knee injury; thus, Melbourne City attacker Marco Tilio was added to the team as a precaution.
If a player needs to be replaced for medical reasons, they can do so up to 24 hours before their first game according to FIFA’s World Cup regulations. However, Australia’s coach Graham Arnold is confident that Boyle will be ready to play when his team faces France next Tuesday at the Al Janoub Stadium.
In addition to their 2018 FIFA World Cup opener, the Socceroos and France faced each other in the group stage. Les Bleus prevailed, 2-1, thanks to a penalty kick from Antoine Griezmann (in the 58th minute) and an own goal from Aziz Behich (in the 80th minute).
Goodwin didn’t travel to Russia with the Australian team, but he assured reporters that his teammates wouldn’t be nervous about seeing Didier Deschamps’s squad again. You can check our World Cup 2022 fixtures Singapore time schedule page for the complete lineup of games for the tournament.
Australia had to press on
Goodwin remarked in an interview that Australia must carry on and win each game individually. It’s a cliche for sure, but he thinks that’s their best shot at moving forward and actually accomplishing something. Beating France in their first group stage at the WorldCup22 match is only the beginning.
He continued, saying that they should not let fear or a lack of confidence put them at a disadvantage before the game even begins.
As a pleasant ending to a season that started with a world record 11-game winning run and spiraled to the point that Arnold’s position was seriously threatened, Australia booked their ticket at the World Cup in an intercontinental playoff shootout against Peru.
The World Cup Champions’ Curse lingers
Some are questioning if France will join the ranks of the last four European World Cup winners who were unable to go beyond the group stage in the subsequent World Cup, a streak that dates back to 1998.
Didier Deschamps’ team won 4 years ago in Russia, also raking in favorable World Cup betting odds 2022, and while they haven’t been on top form recently, they are still confident that they will successfully defend their championship in Qatar.
Although the last four European teams to triumph at the World Cup all went home in the group stages of the next tournament, so nothing is certain.
That streak dates back to the French team that won at home but lost in Japan and South Korea, and it continues with Germany’s first-round exit in Russia since 1938.
Unified Germany in 1994, which followed West Germany’s 1990 World Cup victory in Italy with a respectable run, was the last European team to do so. However, France could not completely avoid the champions’ curse, and Australia might not even be aware of it. The more reason to catch the whole group stage matches at our World Cup 2022 free livestream.
Final thoughts
If they want to pull off a major upset and defeat the World Cup’s defending champions, France, the Socceroos will need to close a massive talent gap. While football games are ultimately decided on the field, rather than the roster, it is still helpful for punters to have an understanding of the teams’ strengths and weaknesses.
Goodwin believes that his team has shown themselves by overcoming adversity on the road to the World Cup. They have no choice but to go into this matchup with full confidence to take on France. Even though Australia knows this would be a challenging match, they still have a chance to surprise everyone.
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