France 4-1 Australia: Player ratings as Les Blues overcome an early scare to begin their title defence in style | FIFA World Cup 2022

Australia Player Ratings

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Mathew Ryan: 4/10

Despite conceding four unanswered goals, Ryan made a couple of crucial saves that could have made the scoreline much more damaging than it ended up being.

Nathaniel Atkinson: 3/10

Atkinson was given a torrid time by the pace of Mbappe and Hernandez down the wing.

The already unenviable assignment of marking Mbappe was made even tougher with the early arrival of Theo Hernandez, and Atkinson had a torrid time. Regularly beaten for pace by the pacy French duo, he lost the ball in a dangerous area leading directly to France’s second goal.

He was replaced in the 85th minute.

Harry Souttar: 5/10

The giant centre-back acquitted himself fairly well in the face of a difficult challenge, defending solidly for most of the game. He also showcased his passing ability, sending a raking diagonal out to the right wing to set up the opener for his side.

Kye Rowles: 4/10

Rowles had it tough up against France’s star-studded attackers but stood up to the task manfully. He took an uncomplicated approach to the game, cleaning up quickly and efficiently when needed.

Aziz Behich: 5/10

Behich had a little more success keeping tabs on Dembele than his opposite fullback had with Mbappe as he showed excellent industry to keep pace with the French speedster for most of the game. He also got forward at times and made a heroic goalline clearance to keep the score down.

Aaron Mooy: 4/10

Mooy did not move much from his central midfield spot, opting instead to spray the ball around as and when needed. However, he could not create much and picked up a booking in injury time at the end of the game.

Riley McGree: 4/10

McGree showed a willingness to run, covering a lot fo ground but offering little else as he struggled to get on the ball much. He was taken off in the 73rd minute.

Jackson Irvine: 5/10

The tough-tackling Irvine used his physicality to good effect, jumping into challenges all over the pitch and even hitting the post with a looping first-half header. He was over-zealous while defending at times, which earned him an 80th minute booking before he was taken off five minutes later.

Matthew Leckie: 5/10

Leckie’s excellent control and cross for the opener was his solitary contribution of note in the game. He struggled to beat Theo Hernandez for pace after he came on and did not offer much assistance while tracking back either.

Mitchell Duke: 4/10

A tough outing for the striker, who was forced to feed off scraps and had to drop deep to get involved in the play. Having had only 16 touches in the game, he picked up a booking for a late tackle just before he was replaced in the 56th minute.

Craig Goodwin: 7/10

Goodwin gave Australia a shock lead in the 9th minute.

While Goodwin’s finish for the opener was excellent, he faded as the game wore on and did not make much of an impact after scoring. He was taken off in the 74th minute as Australia opted for fresh legs on the pitch.

Substitutes:

Jason Cummings (Duke 56’): 4/10

Cummings did not fare much better than the striker he replaced in the second half, managing to get only eight touches as he spent most of his time on the pitch chasing lost causes.

Awer Mabil (McGree, 73’): 5/10

Mabil was not able to make much of an impact after coming on for the final 15 minutes or so.

Garang Kuol (Goodwin, 74’): 5/10

He showed flashes of pace and ingenuity during his short stint on the pitch.

Milos Degenek (Atkinson, 85’): N.A.

Did not have enough time to make an impact.

Keanu Baccus (Irvine, 85’): N.A.

Did not have enough time to make an impact.