France

Adrien Rabiot, Olivier Giroud Give France First-half Lead Against Australia

The defending World Cup champs are back on top

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

France is back on top. 

After conceding a goal in just the ninth minute, Adrien Rabiot equalized for France against Australia in the 27th minute in their Group D opener in the 2022 World Cup. 

Off a cleared corner kick, left back Theo Hernandez, who came on as a substitute in the 13th minute after his brother, Lucas, suffered a leg injury, delivered a cross back into the penalty box that Rabiot connected with. 

The Juventus left-footed center midfielder had scored just one goal in his first 27 caps for the French side. He now has two in his last three international appearances. 

Rabiot’s high press on the left flank saw Australia lose the ball in a dangerous area just five minutes later, and Rabiot got to it first before laying it off to Olivier Giroud for the easy tap-in to make it 2-1. 

Giroud now has 50 goals for Les Bleus, and he’s two away from surpassing Thierry Henry as the country’s all-time leading scorer. 

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