DOHA, Qatar—Even without the injured Karim Benzema, defending World Cup champion France has plenty of attacking power.
Most teams would love to have either Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, or Olivier Giroud in their forward line, let alone all three. They have 119 international goals between them, plus an abundance of speed, craft, experience, and skill.
But France does not have the same assurances in midfield, and that is where Australia could trouble Les Bleus on Tuesday in their opening Group D match.
France struggled to beat Australia 2–1 when the teams met in their World Cup opener four years ago, and that was with a full-strength midfield….