World Cup Forensics: France vs Australia

In the only primetime AEST 8pm slot of the entire World Cup, Australia comes in as a heavy underdog taking on the French juggernaut. It's quite possibly the best case of head vs heart and man vs machine, as many patriotic Australians will believe that the Socceroos can cause a huge upset against all odds.

Spoiler alert - I don't think it's going to happen, I'm afraid.

France are quite simply too talented to not win this game and should do so with aplomb. Opening night's clash between Russia and Saudi Arabia showed the differential in quality between some of the nations against the tournament's underdogs.

Bert van Marwijk led the Saudi's through qualifying ahead of Australia in their qualifying, but has since left his post and is now rather ironically is in charge of the Australian side. He will need to get his tactics spot on if they are to stand any chance against an irresistible French barrage.

France are winning an unsurprising 72 percent of all simulations according to Stats Insider's Model, with Australia coming in at only 9 percent. It would be one of, if not the biggest upset of the World Cup if Australia were to find a way to victory.

Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti should be able to deal with Australia's attacking threat through the middle ahead of Hugo Lloris, with Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante and Corentin Tolisso forming a midfield trio that is equal parts devastating and intimidating.

Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud may be the three-man front line French Manager Didier Deschamps opts for against Australia, and Mbappe and Griezmann will run riot alongside the presence of Giroud in the middle.

It would not be a surprise to see this game's scoreline blowout and in 59 percent of simulations that does occur. We've already seen Saudi Arabia's frail defence be exposed, and Australia's may well be in trouble on Saturday.

If you're feeling a bet on France to win to nil, Stats Insider's simulations indicate an 8 percent likelihood that only one team will score. It's probably a bit far-fetched to think the result could reverse with Australia to win to nil.

You never know though, right?

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