France v Australia player ratings: Mbappe 9, Giroud 9; Goodwin 7, Mooy 5

Les Bleus open World Cup defence with comfortable 4-1 win at Al Janoub Stadium

FRANCE PLAYER RATINGS: Hugo Lloris – 6. Hard for him to save Goodwin’s opener. Scrambled as the ball hit his post. More settled in the second half as the defending champions had a winning start. AFP

Lucas Hernandez – NA. Floored in the run up to the Australia opener after nine minutes and was carried off the pitch. A sad sight. EPA

Dayot Upamecano – 7. Played slightly out of position to accommodate Konate. Got on the ball more than any other player on the pitch. Strong at the back after the early wobble. AFP

Ibrahima Konate – 7. Started alongside Upcamecano for the first time for France. In their final Bundesliga season together at RB Leipzig (2020/21), they never lost a game in which they both started. Is the same run now starting for France? EPA

Benjamin Pavard – 5. Woeful as he didn’t see Goodman move into space to score Australia’s opener. Out of position as Australia headed against the post on 45. Getty

Aurelien Tchouameni – 8. Brought balance. Won every tackle and interception. Flawless. AP

Antoine Griezmann – 7. Up against a very hard-working and motivated defence. Shot low and wide after 42 as France went through the gears and started to dominate. Effort cleared off the line on 66. EPA

Adrien Rabiot – 8. Headed France level after 26, a well worked move. Set up France’s second. In form for Juventus and now France. EPA

Ousmane Dembele – 8. A danger with the ball as he is for Barcelona. Balls into Griezmann, but his best was a cross for Mbappe’s header which gave France a 3-1 cushion. AFP

Olivier Giroud – 9. The 36-year-old sidefooted France 2-1 up with their second goal in five minutes - his 50th goal for his country. Worked hard to free up space for others. Did a bicycle kick, got France’s fourth, a header on 72 which saw him surrounded by teammates. Reuters

Kylian Mbappe – 9. Difficult to stop with his speed and running. Set up Griezmann with a shot on 42. Acceleration and technique are faultless – apart from when he missed an easy 45th minute chance. Deserved his goal to make it 3-1, his 12th goal in his last 11 France games. Set up Giroud for the fourth with a cross. Sensational. Reuters

SUBS: Theo Hernandez (Hernandez 12’) – 8. On for his brother. Strong bringing the ball out of possession, but also sloppy in losing the ball leading to a 21st minute Australia effort. Super ball in for Rabiot’s equaliser. Perfect cross for Giroud’s overhead kick. AP

Kingsley Coman (Dembele 76’) – 7. AFP

Youssouf Fofana (Tchouameni 76’) – 7. AFP

Jules Kounde (Pavard 89’) – N/A. AFP

Marcus Thuram (Giroud 89’) – N/A. AFP

AUSTRALIA PLAYER RATINGS: Mathew Ryan – 6. There was nothing he could do to stop any of France’s finishes for the goals, but he made a great save to keep out Konate’s header. AFP

Nathaniel Atkinson – 4. Constantly stretched by Mbappe and showed resilience to try to keep up with him, but the defender’s poor touch allowed him to be pickpocketed for France’s second. Unable to stop Mbappe delivering the cross for Giroud’s second. Getty

Harry Souttar – 6. Looked comfortable when on the ball and hit a brilliant pass out to Leckie for the opener. Defended well for large periods, especially when he put in a fantastic tackle on Mbappe. Unable to get across to stop Mbappe scoring his header. AP

Kye Rowles – 6. Took charge with aggressive defending in the early stages to stop Mbappe’s cross and dispossess Dembele. Made an important block to stop a shot from the edge of the box then outdid that with a superb tackle to deny Mbappe. However, he let Mbappe get between him and Souttar for his goal. AP

Aziz Behich – 5. Beaten in his first encounter with Dembele and was often helpless when the Frenchman ran at him. Griezmann also got behind him on a few occasions in the first half. Did brilliantly to clear Griezmann’s shot off the line but was then beaten by Dembele who crossed for Mbappe’s goal, then was outjumped by Giroud. Made a good burst forward in the final moments. Getty

Riley McGree – 5. Showed a lack of quality in the early stages with a shocking shot and overhit pass but grew into the game by putting a shift in for the team and delivered an inviting cross for Jackson Irvine’s header before half time. Had a quiet second half. AP

Aaron Mooy – 5. Moved the ball well for large periods of the first half and helped out defensively, notably putting in a good challenge on Rabiot. Struggled to make much of an impact in the second period and laboured towards the end. Booked for a lunge on Hernandez. Getty

Jackson Irvine – 7. Rushed out to put in a superb tackle on Tchouameni and continued to defend aggressively all game. Unlucky to see his header hit the post. Booked for a cynical foul on Upamecano and was saved by his teammates after playing a poor pass as he tired. AFP

Mathew Leckie – 6. Cut inside Lucas Hernandez and picked out Goodwin for the opener but was barged off by Theo soon after. His influence quickly dwindled in the first half as he stopped having the same impact going forward. Put in a good shift for the team during the second period. AFP

Mitchell Duke – 5. Showed a willingness to help defensively and came close with an audacious strike from range. However, a potential Australia move broke down due to his poor pass attempt as he faded fairly quickly. Booked for an overzealous tackle on Dembele after a poor touch let him down. EPA

Craig Goodwin – 7. Got a reaction when he went in on Pavard with an early tackle and inspired a very different one from the Australian supporters when he scored the opener with a composed finish. Initially helped Behich defensively but struggled to do that as the first half went on. Showed discipline in the second period. Getty

SUBS: Jason Cummings (Duke 56’) – 5. Worked hard but often found himself either chasing shadows or being overpowered by the Frenchmen around him. Came close to blocking Lloris’ clearance. Sprayed a nice pass out to Behich in the final moments. AP

Awer Mabil (McGree 73’) – N/R. Offered very little going forward and left Behich exposed at times. EPA

Garang Kuol (Goodwin 73’) – N/R. Tried to find Cummings after a promising burst but was dispossessed by Hernandez when he next tried to beat the full-back. AP

Keanu Baccus (Irvine 85’) – N/R. Put in plenty of work to help his tiring teammates but his attempted pass through was overhit. AFP

Milos Degenek (Atkinson, 85’) – N/R. Showed a slight lack of awareness when he headed the ball behind under no pressure. Held Mbappe up and won a foul off him. AFP

Olivier Giroud netted twice to become France's joint record scorer as the defending champions fought back to ease past Australia, opening their World Cup defence with a 4-1 Group D win on Tuesday to silence talk of a holders' curse.

Australia had taken a stunning lead at Al Janoub Stadium when Craig Goodwin applied a super finish to Mathew Leckie's cross after nine minutes, but France levelled when Adrien Rabiot headed home and Giroud's tap-in gave them the halftime lead.

Kylian Mbappe's glancing header in the 68th minute was followed by Giroud's 51st international goal three minutes later, drawing him level with Thierry Henry as France's all-time top marksman.

Didier Deschamps' side, who lead the Group D after rivals Denmark and Tunisia drew 0-0 earlier on Tuesday, ended a run of poor starts for World Cup holders, after the previous three – Italy, Spain and Germany – all failed to win their openers.

In the photo gallery above, Andy Mitten has provided his player ratings for the France squad, while Danny Lewis gives his verdict on Australia. To move on to thee next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.