France lead Australia 2-1 at halftime

France's Olivier Giroud celebrates scoring their second goal with Ousmane Dembele in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Group D match France v Australia at the Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar on 22 November, 2022Reuters

France recovered from an early deficit to take a 2-1 lead over Australia into halftime as they opened their FIFA World Cup title defence in a Group D clash at the Al Janoub Stadium on Tuesday.

Australia opened the scoring in the ninth minute through Craig Goodwin.

Adrien Rabiot got the French back on level terms in the 27th with Olivier Giroud putting them ahead with a tap-in five minutes later.