France vs Australia, World Cup 2018, As it happened

PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! PEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

France have got the win they wanted. But the Aussies made sure they toiled for it. Antoine Griezmann put France in front with the first VAR approved penalty decision. Jedinak drew level for the Aussies, once again from the spot, after Umtiti handled the ball from an Aaron Mooy set-piece.

Ultimately, Paul Pogba saved the day for Les Bleues after combining to great effect on the edge of the area with Olivier Giroud and with a fair amount of good fortune to buoy the finish just past the goalline.

It finishes France 2-1 Australia.

That's that from the yap centre. Catch the live commentary for Argentina vs Iceland right here.

This is me, Shambhu Ajith, signing off. Hope y'all had a ball. @goddamnhunter on Twitter for banter, lads.

Over and out.

94' Pogba tries to drag the ball clear after another Aussie attack is dismissed by Parvard. Pogba gets pushed to the floor and wins a freekick.

94' France somehow get it clear and they will break for the last time today. But Lucas Hernandez is stopped on the left flank before he can feed the ball to one of Mbappe or Giroud. France have a throw-in.

93' Risdon cuts in from the right and dinks the ball in to a dangerous area but Umtiti nods it clear. Long throw coming in from the left side from Behich.

92' 3 minutes to go. Can the Aussies pull a rabbit out of the hat? Can they salvage the dead bird in the box?

91' France taking their sweet time with a throw-in from the left flank. They should see this one out easily, the way they have been controlling the game for the past 20 minutes or so.

90' 5 minutes added on.

89' N;Golo Kante slaloms past 3 Aussie players, taking them out of the game and feeds the ball to Mbappe. He rounds the keeper but is too far away from goal and instead crosses it to the other side of the box for Fekir. Fekir lays it off to Pogba but the defenders get back just in time and steal the ball away from him before he could do something about it.

87' Fekir slams it on to the wall and the ball goes out for a throw-in.

85' Olivier Giroud is cautioned as he pulls Risdon to the ground on the left side. Immediately afterwards, Behich tugs Fekir to the ground on the other side and gets a yellow card. Fekir will take it. Dangerous position.

84' Fekir is brought down near the centre of the park with 5 minutes to go.

83' Fekir takes the corner. Pogba flicks it on and Ryan comes out to punch it clear. The ball falls to a French player but he skies it.

82' France find themselves in a 3 on 1 situation but it is on the left flank and Hernandez's cross is sniffed out and headed out of danger. France win a corner.

80' PAUL POGBA SCORES!

He starts the move himself and plays a neat little one-two with Giroud at the edge of the box and tries to flick it over Matt Ryan. Gets a fortuitous deflection that buoys the ball over the Aussie goalkeeper's head. The ball hits the crossbar, bounces inside and comes out. But VAR comes to the rescue and the referee points to the centre and the goal is awarded.

79' France look devoid of any kindof creativity in the final third as Mbappe fails to combine with Giroud on the edge of the area.

77' Substitution for France.

Tolisso off. Matuidi on.

76' Mooy spreads it out to Risdon on the right but the latter lets him down with a poor cross that's deflected out for a throw-in.

75' Tolisso gets a yellow card. He trips Juric as he breaks into a 3 on 2 situation. Came from behind. Clear yellow.

73' Irvine spreads the ball to the right wing and takes on Lucas Hernandez but to no avail. France break forward but Nabil Fekir's ball in search of Giroud was miscalculated and another attack is scuppered.

72' Pavard tracks back and stops a threatening Aussie counter with a well timed slide tackle.

71' Pogba plays a long ball into the box. But Giroud can't get on the end of it and France have a corner (not sure how that transpired). The corner comes to nothing as once the ball is deflected out of the box, Pavard goes for an audacious attempt at a volley and sends the ball searching for a satellite.

70' Substitution for Australia.

Rogic off. Irvine on.

69' Substitution for France.

Dembele off. Nabik Fekir in. Liverpool fans, are you watching? Hehehe

68' Substitution for France.

Griezmann off. Giroud on.

66' Robbie Kruse is mowed down on the left side of the park. Good spell for the Aussies as they gain several yards and are messing wth the Frenchman in the final third. But Leckie's horrible backpass is almost picked up by Griezmann before Matt Ryan reaches it and clears the danger.
My esteemed colleague Amit Mishra has ruined the mood with his joke, "Leckie just got lucky."

I know.

64' Can France bounce back? They look a bit devoid of inspiration.

63' Substitution for Australia.

Nabbout off. Juric on.

62' 28 minutes to go and there's every reason to be excited for the finale.

61' JEDINAK KEEPS HIS NERVE AND PASSES IT INTO THE NET AFTER SENDING LLORIS THE WRONG WAY. THE GAME HAS SPRUNG TO LIFE! THE SOCCEROOS ARE RIGHT BACK IN IT.

60' Oh God, that's an awful picture. Umtiti, inexplicably has his hands in the air like he's calling for God and handles the ball.

59' Australia have a freekick on the right side of the box. He plays it into the far post. The Socceroos appeal for a handball and the referee deems Umtiti guilty of handling the ball.

58' OH GRIEZZY! Could have been a double inside a minute for Antoine Griezmann there. He starts it off with a well weighted through ball to free Mbappe on the left side and he prances into the box and then cuts in and slides it across. Some pinball activity later Griezmann gets to go at goal but his shot is rather tame. The ball returns to him fortuitously but his follow-up shot is nothing worthy of commendation either.

57' BELTS IT INTO THE RIGHT CORNER, DOES GRIEZMANN. CALM, COOL AND SOPHISTICATED. ANTOINE GRIEZMANN FOR YOU. FRANCE 1-0 AUSTRALIA.

56' First ever review in a football World Cup and it goes in France's favour. Antoine Griezmann will take it. Fingers crossed.

54' PENALTY FOR FRANCE! That looked real soft from the replays but rules are rules. Here comes a talking point from the game.

53' OH LORD! What just happened? Paul Pogba plays a spectacular threaded ball for both Griezmann to chase but Ridson lunges in from behind and saves the day. Or has he? It goes to VAR! It's a potential penalty kick for France.

52' Leckie has the ball on the right side. He holds on to it before releasing Ridson into a crossing position. Ridson drives it in but Varane intervenes right before Nabbout can put the finishing touches on it.

49' Since 1974, Australia have never kept a cleansheet in a World Cup game. Woah, France needs to up their game, eh?

48' Leckie's delinquent streak kicks on. He elbows Lucas Hernandez as they both rise to meet an aerial ball played into Australia's attacking half.

47' Pogba cleverly turns around and slides the ball to Lucas Hernandez on the left side but his cross is hit straight at Matt Ryan.

46' A rather slow start to proceedings in the second half as Australia try to labour their way out of their own half. The Frenchman press hard and high and win a throw-in on the left side. Pogba rolls the ball inward and now they are on the front foot.

PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! And we're off in the second half! We hope this will be a very different set of 45 minutes.

PEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! That's that in the first half. It is looking good for the Aussies. They seem to have an answer for every question the French have asked them. Can Didier Deschamps inspire the Frenchman with some good ol' pep talk? Let's see.

45' OH THE AUSSIES WITH THEIR FIRST PROPER MOMENT OF THE GAME!
Kruse is released on the left flank by Rogic and his ball in is deflected out of the box. But he latches on to it and lets one fly but it goes just above Lloris's far post.

44' Dembele whips one in from the right flank but it goes straight into the hands of Matt Ryan.

42' Pogba's beautiful ball into the box is falling perfectly for Griezmann but Sainsbury's outstretched leg foils Les Bleues' plans once again.

41' Kante sweeps the ball out to the left side for Hernandez and they string a couple of passes together but they still can't get that final ball away!

39' Pogba plays quite a disappointing ball as he tries to find Pavard on the right side of the box and relinquishes possession. Australia will try to work forward from the back once again. Kante fouls Rogic on the Socceroos' right wing and they win a freekick. It's near the centre of the park.

38' Leckie needs to be careful here. he absolutely lays into Hernandez near the corner flag as the latter tries to smack the ball clear. Leckie immediately goes towards the referee and pleads his case. Don't wanna be walking on borrowed time, mate.

37' The Aussies try to build from the back but France are pressing high and are not affording a moment's peace to the Socceroos as they keep queering their pitches.

France vs Australia, World Cup 2018, As it happened

France Australia | World Cup Score | France Live | Australia Live | World Cup 2018 Live Commentary