France are red-hot 2/7 favourites with Betfred to get their World Cup defence off to a winning start when they take on Australia in the Al Wakrah Stadium on Tuesday night.
Les Bleus have one of the deepest and most talented squads of any nation in Qatar, which is why they are one of the favourites to lift the trophy, but that depth is being tested by injuries to key players N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and Karim Benzema which means longstanding boss Didier Deschamps needs to shuffle his pack.
Despite leading France to a World Cup success in Russia and Nations League glory in 2021, Deschamps himself has come under scrutiny after his side crashed out of Euro 2020 at the last 16 stage, despite leading Switzerland 3-1 at one stage. Their most recent Nations League campaign also seemed to raise more questions than answers.
