The Socceroos will be taking to the field for the first time in the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup when they take on France. The match will take place at 6am AEDT, and be available to watch live and free on both SBS and SBS On Demand. SEN will be broadcasting the match across the entire radio network.
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The last time the two teams met in a World Cup was 2018’s Russian tournament, where Australia was narrowly defeated 2-1. France went on to win the title that year.
There’s no doubt that the Socceroos are facing an uphill battle, and taking on the reigning champs in game one was always going to be daunting. Despite this, the clash – set to take place at Qatar’s Al Janoub stadium – won’t be given up that easily.
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold said that people have been too quick to write off the Aussies, and that he believes an upset against France is definitely possible.
“I know their mentality, that’s the biggest thing,” Arnold said.
“They don’t step back from anybody, they only know how to look forward and go forward, it doesn’t matter who’s in front of them.
“And it’s not being disrespectful at all but I have hardly mentioned the word ‘France’ and I have hardly mentioned any of the (French) players’ names.
“The players know who they are … it’s 10 blue shirts against 10 yellow shirts and it’s a fight.”
Socceroos Team:
Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan (captain), Andrew Redmayne, Danny Vukovic
Defenders: Nathaniel Atkinson, Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Thomas Deng, Fran Karacic, Joel King, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Bailey Wright
Midfielders: Keanu Baccus, Cameron Devlin, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Riley McGree, Aaron Mooy
Forwards: Martin Boyle (replaced by Marco Tilio), Jason Cummings, Mitchell Duke, Craig Goodwin, Garang Kuol, Mat Leckie, Awer Mabil, Jamie Maclaren
Group D – France v Australia
5:00am – 8:30am (AEDT) – kickoff at 06.00am
Live on SBS and SBS On Demand