FIFA World Cup: France vs Australia, 5 Talking Points

France toiled in their World Cup opener against Australia before eventually claiming all the three points for the 2-1 win. The Socceroos frustrated the mighty European outfit for large spells of the match with solid defending and almost grabbed an unlikely point.

There was yet more VAR controversy as France were the beneficiaries of a questionable review which resulted in its first penalty. Australia restored parity with a spot-kick of their own just four minutes later, but Paul Pogba was on hand to strike the winner with just ten minutes to play.

A drab opening half cut open significantly in the second, yet failed to produce genuine moments of quality. Here are the major talking points from the match:

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#1 A game of two halves

France and Australia played out a livelier second-half

Australia's cautionary approach in the first-half meant France spent most of the time trying to penetrate through the watertight Socceroos defense, but to no avail. The stellar attacking vanguard failed to produce anything of note, while Australia's attempts at the other end were futile to say the least.

The opening 45 ended without much goalmouth action apart from Kylian Mbappé's promising run after two minutes, which rung the danger bells for the Asian outfit. However, the second-half was relatively more entertaining and also opened up the match more as tired legs became a factor.

Two penalties in the space of just five minutes lit up the contest, as both sides then pushed for the all-important winner. France were finding more space in the final third, while Australia finally showed some attacking intent and looked threatening themselves.

Chances suddenly flew at either ends, although barely any of them were of genuine quality. Les Bleus eventually snatched all three points after Pogba's deflected strike cannoned in off the crossbar.

#2 Young guns of France fail to fire

Mbappé was France's main attacking threat early on but only showed flashes of his best today

At an average age of 24 years and 6 months, this was France's youngest starting XI in a World Cup opener since 1930, when they played their first ever World Cup game against Mexico. Packed to the rafters with prodigious talents, Les Bleus were touted to navigate through this game without much fuss, but an obstinate Australia kept them at an arm's length.

Both Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé failed to combine regularly enough with Antoine Griezmann in-and-around the area, while wing-backs Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez left a lot to be desired in their attempts to overlap and create extra options going forward.

Corentin Tolisso too, was a poor reflection of his rip-roaring self that played a starring role for Bayern in the first-half of last season. Pogba flicked in and out of the match, but at least has the winner to his credit and played an important role in creating their opener.

This was a French side that has shown plenty of promise in the months leading up to this, but things quite didn't break for the lads today. Victory aside, they know there's plenty of work to be done going forward.

#3 VAR makes a dubious World Cup debut

Referee looked into the VAR before awarding a penalty

Ever since the concept of VAR has been introduced in football, we've been accustomed to countless instances of questionable decisions and late calls. Add one more after today's game, as France can consider themselves lucky to have been awarded their penalty.

Australian defender Josh Risdon's sliding tackle caught Griezmann's heels, but the Frenchman initially appeared to make a meal out of it by throwing himself to the turf. The referee was sceptical on first viewing and adjudged it to have been a well-timed challenge, before turning to the much-maligned VAR and eventually awarded a spot-kick.

It was a dubious call which caused plenty of confusion, but the Atletico Madrid forward stepped up to clinical dispatch from 12 yards. This was the first time in a World Cup game that VAR was called into question and going by today's events, it certainly wasn't the best of starts for the technology.

#4 Sainsbury and Mooy shine the brightest for Australia

Aaron Mooy delivered a Man of the Match performance

The Socceroos were more of a cohesive unit than France, at least when you consider how they defended today. But centre-back Trent Sainsbury was the star in this obdurate backline. The 26-year-old was a livewire throughout, marking his opposite numbers to perfection and even jumping into tackles and nipping the danger in the bud with his crucial clearances.

He imbued a great sense of positioning and afforded little time and space in the box for the lurking French forwards. Sainsbury also communicated well with Milligan, exemplifying Australia's physical defensive approach.

Ahead of him, Aaron Mooy turned in an impressive all-round display. The Huddersfield midfielder helped out defensively with tight man-marking, whilst he utilised possession well whenever on the ball.

His 79 touches is second only to Milligan, while he won all five of the tackles he challenged for. When Australia put on their attacking boots, Mooy was once again a central figure -passing the ball around with intent, while crucially regaining possession in dangerous areas.

#5 Back to the drawing board for France, time to rework strategies

France must come back stronger in their next match

Les Bleus set out in an attacking 4-3-3 with a formidable line-up of Griezmann, Dembélé and Mbappé spearheading up-top. Despite a few promising flashes of their individual brilliance, the wingers struggled to regularly combine with the Atletico centre-forward and he was consequently starved of service in the area. They even switched flanks at one point, to no avail.

Tolisso's inclusion in the starting line-up was somewhat of a surprise and resulted in their inability to move the ball with a faster tempo. The Bayern midfielder had only recently recovered from a shine bone bruise he sustained during the home stretch of last season and his display was a reflection of a player who is yet to hit his peak.

With that in mind, it's possible that Deschamps would want to partner either Nabil Fekir or Thomas Lemar with Pogba in midfield. Eyebrows were raised when he also subbed off Griezmann, for Olivier Giroud in the final stages of the match at 1-1. The move may have not changed a pickled pepper today, but starting both upfront in the next match might bring the much-needed verve back into France's attack.

They got the win they came here for, but it was far from a convincing one. Deschamps has plenty of work to do and selection headaches to worry about, ahead of their clash with Peru next week.