Event of the Day: France versus Australia
Our event of the day is the Football World Cup 2018 match between France and Australia at the Kazan Arena in Tatarstan, the opening match in Group C. France will be looking to get their World Cup off to a good start, and will be looking to build on making it to the final of Euro 2016, where they lost in extra time to Portugal. France, winners in 1998, are understandably one of the favourites for the World Cup, ranked 7th in the world, and boast great depth in nearly all positions.
Under the guidance of Didier Deschamps they have only lost once in their last 13 matches and, have a wealth of attacking options at their disposal, with the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, and Antoine Griezmann looking to impress this summer. Australia, making their 5th appearance at the World Cup, have been struggling as of late. Ranked 36th in the world, they changed manager back in November, with Ange Postecoglou being replaced with Bert van Marwijk. After losing their first match under the new manager, the Socceroos are undefeated in their last three games. Two of the main players to watch for Australia are Premier League players Aaron Mooy and Mat Ryan, who are both coming into this World Cup off the back of successful seasons in which they were vital for their teams, Huddersfield and Brighton respectively. Tim Cahill will also be representing his country at this year’s tournament and, despite being aged 38 and having an average season with Millwall, he still remains the country’s biggest name.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to matches in the cricket and rugby. In cricket, England take on Australia in the second One Day International, after winning the first game by 3 wickets on Wednesday. Today’s match will take place at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. In Rugby Union, South Africa take on England at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa. In golf, the US Open in Southampton, New York continues into its 3rd day with Dustin Johnson in the lead. It’s a busy day too at the World Cup in Russia, with other ties taking place between Argentina and Iceland, Peru and Denmark, and Croatia and Nigeria. In MotoGP, there is the qualification for the Catalunya Grand Prix, taking place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. In Tennis, both the Libéma Open in the Netherlands, and the Mercedes Cup in Germany, move into their 6th day of competition.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by FIFA