Australia face France at 8pm AEST in their opening match in Group C.

L'Equipe anticipate Didier Deschamps will put his faith in some of the younger players in his squad, most notably by selecting Barcelona livewire Ousmane Dembele starting up top alongside Antoine Griezmann and Kylian M'bappe.

Dembele made his senior international debut in September 2016 and has racked up 12 caps, scoring twice.

He joined Barcelona in a huge $240m deal from Borussia Dortmund a year ago only to endure an injury-hit campaign. However, he recovered to play a part in 13 of the last 15 games of the season as Barca won the Spanish league-and-cup double.

The 21 year-old's pace and movement would make for a significantly contrasting challenge for the Australian backline were he to start instead of 31 year-old Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud, who presents more of a physical challenge as a target man and foil for Griezmann and M'bappe.



However, Giroud does indeed start from the bench, he may still be a serious threat - he has established a real reputation as a super-sub in England in recent years, with six of his seven Premier League goals last season coming from off the bench.

It is also suggested that Stuttgart's Benjamin Pavard and Atletico Madrid's Lucas Hernandez, both 22, will start at right-back and left-back respectively.

In midfield, Paul Pogba and N'golo Kante are predicted to be joined by Bayern Munich's Corentin Tolisso. The 23 year-old would take position usually occupied by Blaise Matuidi, who two years ago played in every match of France's run to the final of UEFA Euro 2016.