France v Australia: Can the Socceroos produce a World Cup shock?

Russian newspapers have described Australia as a 'broken boomerang' heading into the World Cup, but the Socceroos are capable of shocking a few on Saturday against France in Kazan.

Fit and firing after an intense three-week camp in Turkey described as 'borderline torture' by players, the green and gold will be ready to rumble against a French side that might not be.

Held to a 1-1 draw with the USA in their final friendly before the World Cup, France showed they won't be invincible in Russia and have a history of starting the tournament slowly. 

Though defeating Honduras 3-0 in their opening match in 2014, the French have lost one and drawn two of their previous four World Cup openers demonstrating a tendency for complacency.

It's exactly that, that the Socceroos will be hoping to capitalise on in Kazan with the Les Bleus strong favourites to comfortably dispatch an Australian side that has importantly found form under new coach Bert van Marwijk.

While their final friendly against Hungary was a far from convincing 2-1 win, the Socceroos are now three matches unbeaten, scoring six goals and conceding just two in that span under van Marwijk's pragmatic football approach.

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Though on paper this game does loom as a mismatch, on the pitch Australia have the players capable of constricting the French - a fact their young star Kylian Mbappe is clearly aware of.

"Australia are a very rough and physical team who will make it hard for us to play," Mbappe said.

"They have a lot of desire but they will also play as the outsider against us. They’re a team that has absolutely nothing to lose."

Though underdogs, don't expect the Socceroos to simply throw themselves at this game with a repeat of their 4-0 loss to Germany at the 2010 World Cup still causing Australians nightmares. 

Instead, the green and gold look set to channel Spanish side Atletico Madrid with compact defending and a clinical counter both set to make life difficult for a French side prone to frustration.

Should the Socceroos be able to hold out France for the first hour, they then have two weapons waiting on the bench to make a telling contribution.

Tim Cahill scored Australia's first ever World Cup goal and would become just the fourth player in history to score in four World Cups should he strike in Russia - a feat a lack of club minutes won't stop him from doing off the bench.

Daniel Arzani meanwhile is the youngest player at this World Cup and he took just 67 seconds to score against Hungary after coming on as a substitute to demonstrate his ability to have an impact in a short period.

While most Australian fans will simply be hoping to avoid a heavy defeat against France, there's nothing wrong with some optimism with a World Cup shock for the ages on the cards should the Socceroos spring an upset. 

Article promoted in partnership with bet365. For most up to date odds, go to bet365.com.au.