Socceroos coach Graham Arnold thinks his side can shock France in their opening World Cup game later this month in Qatar.
Australia have been drawn alongside the French, Tunisia and Denmark in Group D, with their opening clash a tough one against the reigning champions.
While France are again one of the favourites to hoist the Jules Rimet Trophy, Arnold isn’t afraid of his side’s first opponents as he crafts a game plan to take away their biggest strengths.
“I think it’s the shock element,” Arnold said on Sportsday.
“It’s 11 blue shirts against 11 yellow shirts and it’s 1v1.
“If we win nine of those physical battles and take away their strengths.
“Their strength is obviously their technique and their quality.
“There’s only one way to take that away and that’s to be in their faces and not giving them time on the ball and time to play their way by putting pressure on them.”
At the 2018 World Cup, Australia performed well against France, but ultimately went down 2-1 again in their opening game.
While the French again possess some of the world’s best attacking players, namely Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Kingsley Coman, Arnold says his focus will solely be on his side and ensuring their mindset is right.
“It’s all about ourselves,” Arnold said.
“Yes, we respect our opposition, but first we get our own mindset right.”
Australia’s game against France kicks off at 6:00 am (AEDT) on Wednesday, November 23.