The France national team took care of business in its first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage, as it clinched a 4-1 victory over Australia on Tuesday. Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe logged two goal contributions in the contest, including a header goal in the second half that provided Les Bleus with a two-goal advantage.
France national team manager Didier Deschamps was far from surprised with Mbappe’s dominant outing on the day, which he touched on in his post-game press conference (via RMC Sport).
“Kylian was already one of the best strikers in the world,” Deschamps said. “He is in full confidence. He gives off a lot of strength, serenity and I’ve been talking to him for a while.
“I knew he would be ready because this is his competition. … Scoring goals with his head, if he adds that on top of it, all the better. He is part of a team and that is important even if he has the ability to make differences. Having Kylian at this level is very important for my team.”
Mbappe was quite active when on the ball over the course of the fixture, as he also created three goal-scoring chances for teammates and won three total ground duels.
Next up for Mbappe and France will be a World Cup group stage encounter against Denmark coming up on Saturday. A win for France over Denmark will then officially clinch Les Bleus a spot in the World Cup knockout stage.
