France starting playing the game against Australia a few days before the match took place insofar that they were quoted in articles saying they expected Australia to be physical and they were braced for a rough night. This plays into the overall impression of Australia as a fit, physical side but lacking in technical skill and creativity. To some extent that's true but the French weren't saying these things because they believed them, these comments are aimed at the referee and intended to ensure that the calls all go their way.
Early in the game it seemed that this is exactly what would happen. The French were falling about at the slightest of touches and acting in pretty much the way that the casual sports fan utterly despises. Leckie was yellow carded early in one of those early exchanges and was justifiably upset.
Much had been made of the chasm in "value" of the respective squads of players based on their most recent transfer fees and while that's an amusing way to decide a game this match was going to be settled the old-fashioned way.
While France had their first shot at goal about 90 seconds into the game and looked like they might score early they oddly decided that they would stop pressing and just let Australia knock the ball around a bit and sweat on a mistake. If it were Spain we were playing I would accuse them of taking a Siesta. Still it gave Australia a bit more possession and you started to believe that the longer it stayed at 0-0 the more likely it would be Australia could get something out of this.
Mind you Australia's best shot at goal came from a French foot that, in clearing a free kick, almost resulted in an own goal to give Australia an unlikely lead. You can't seriously argue Australia would be deserving winners but as they filed off for the halftime break with the scores locked at 0-0 you could make a case for them being good value for a draw.
There were few panicked moments and there was a mature approach to their patience but France has a formidable set of players with speed, skill and a fortunate propensity to be rewarded for falling over. So when Joshua Risdon slid across Griezmann and looked to have kicked the ball into his shins and the referee waved playon you felt that it was the right decision. Sadly for Australia the VAR intervened and the referee halted play, reviewed the incident and awarded the penalty and a yellow card which led to Griezmann scoring and putting France up 1-0.
Luckily Australia are not so easily dissuaded and got some help when Umtiti inexplicably lashed his hand an an incoming cross for Australia and the referee had little choice but to award another penalty a mere 4 minutes after the scoring had opened at the other end. Mile Jedinak, the captain, scored the penalty getting lucky in the direction Hugo Lloris chose to dive.
It was tempting to wish for the full time whistle there and then, a draw likely to be viewed as a loss by France and a win by Australia. Alas there was more cruelty to come. Australia had worked hard and substitute Juric was almost away with Australia on a potential 3v3 but was tripped, on purpose, by Tolisso. Who's playing rough now? He was yellow carded and substituted and minutes later it was a scrappy, probably deflected, lob by Pogba that brushed the underside of the crossbar and bounced just far enough over the line before being reclaimed by Mat Ryan for it to be declared a goal by the goal line technology. A sliding doors moment I think.
So essentially the French scored both goals thanks to new technology that, had they been playing this game 4 years ago, they would never have received previously.
We're now left hoping that France goes on to score big wins against Denmark and Peru and, hopefully they draw each other to maximise Australia's hope of progression.
In the other opening group game it was a similar David v Goliath story with Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, up against Iceland who are at their first ever World Cup tournament representing a country with a population smaller than that of Canberra. Imagine Canberra at the World Cup. Actually let's not I start getting uncomfortable pictures of Malcolm Turnbull in shorts.
Iceland famously knocked England out of the European Championships which made them insanely popular around the world but surely not Argentina. To be fair Argentina are not as good as everyone says they are. Their entire gameplan is captured in 4 words. Pass it to Messi. Now this is a fine tactic because Messi is a player so good he actually makes the rest of the side look ordinary. However that comes at a cost to the team dynamic. Iceland are exactly the kind of side to take advantage.
So when Bjarnasson found himself at the far post with the ball coming towards him I can only assume it was shock that made him put it wide because by rights Iceland should have gone into the lead after a goalkeeping error resulted in that chance.
Slowly though Argentina took better control and after Messi's shot at goal was punched to safety by the Icelandic keeper a short time later Argentina took the lead on about 20 minutes when Aguero controlled the ball in the box, turned and scored in what seemed a flash.
Sometimes concentrating all your efforts on one player gives a chance to the others.
However Iceland aren't so easily unsettled. While it might have been unexpected it wasn't exactly surprising when Finnbogason scored an equaliser about 4 minutes later. A very similar gap as it was between the two penalties of the earlier game. Finnbogason looks nothing like Malcolm Turnbull. Both he and I are grateful for that.
Just before halftime Iceland even threatened to take the lead. Twice. Sure Argentina had the bulk of the ball, and a number of shots and half chances to lead again too, but somehow those moments don't feel exciting. Deep down inside (and for many of us in Brazil and England for starters right there on the surface) want Iceland to pull off this fairytale.
Iceland were playing to a plan that suited their skills. They were doing it well. They were disciplined. It was a shame that they should concede a clumsy penalty for Messi to step up and take. However it adds to their mystique that they, specifically Halldórsson, should save the penalty to keep the scores level.
Messi had another go from a bit further out from a free kick with about 18 minutes left in the game and this time the wall did their job. Argentina were getting frustrated and their game plan just wasn't yielding the kind of dividends that you might expect. Halldórsson was certainly earning his pickled herring and slowly the clock ran down until there were only the 5 minutes of added time left. One minute... seconds... a final Messi free kick meets the wall and the whistle goes.
Iceland managed to not concede a late goal, something that every other team to have played so far has, get their point against the favourites of the group and rightly celebrate a point. Against Argentina. In their first ever World Cup finals match.
Now for the other half of each of those groups to play...
Of most interest is the Denmark v Peru game which showcases the 2 other teams Australia is guaranteed to play. Given that Peru had to qualify via a continental playoff against New Zealand I wasn't really expecting them to be terribly special. They weren't. However they were desperately unlucky not to at least draw against Denmark, if not win outright. Had it not been for some determined defending from Denmark the Peruvians had several chances to score in the first half alone.
Denmark were by no means hapless, they were a solid side and much as you'd expect from a Scandinavian team. However clear chances at goal were rare for them. Mostly it was Peru fashioning opportunities and while some were whatever comes after "ambitious" it was the kind of game where you sensed eventually the pressure would pay off.
In the end it took a VAR decision on a penalty box foul that the referee had initially waved away to grant Peru the clearest chance at the goal they had promised so long. With the half time whistle seconds away a Perivian player (Farfan?) had his standing leg clipped as he changed direction and fell theatrically to the ground. It took the VAR to conclude that indeed there was contact and the resulting penalty was taken by Cueva. He then proceeded to kick the ball high over the crossbar that had the goal been twice as high it probably still would have missed. Derp.
From that moment on you kind of thought that perhaps Peru with its massive army of supporters in the stands would come away empty handed in terms of goals. Just on the hour mark Denmark made it even worse for them by scoring from a quick counter where Eriksen fed the ball to Poulsen who put the ball inside the near post to lead 1-0.
To Peru's credit they redoubled their efforts and Kaspar Schmeichel, luck and desperate defending all contrived to frustrate any attempts to regain parity.
From an Australian point of view if France beat all comers and Australia manage to beat Denmark then a draw against Peru would suffice. Beating Denmark is, I think, within the realms of possibility but Australia will have to be on guard against Peru because they can certainly trouble most defences though tonight none of that trouble escalated.
The final match of the night was Croatia v Nigeria which, on paper, seemed like a promising match. On paper many things look true but turn out less so. Like mission statements, and tradesmens quotes. Like so many of those this match also disappointed. It started off amusing me because it looks like Nigeria has taken up where the Saudi's left off and gone into camouflage mode with their kit. I idly started wondering if we could engineer a meeting between the teams to make it look like the ball was moving around the pitch of its own accord. The earliest such meeting would be in the quarter finals which is going to be beyond either side.
It's not like it was a match full of errors or bad play, even if both goals came from errors, it was just dull. Writing about it would be dull too. So let's just not.
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