France may have kicked off their Qatar 2022 campaign with a comprehensive-looking victory against Australia but it was not all smiles in the aftermath.
The loss of Lucas Hernandez to a cruciate ligament injury to his right knee, sustained after just nine minutes of Tuesday’s Group D contest, was a cruel blow and leaves his brother, Theo, as the only specialist left-back available to coach Didier Deschamps.
The AC Milan full-back looked good going forward against the Socceroos and set up Adrien Rabiot’s goal, showcasing his offensive prowess. On the flipside, he lacks his brother’s experience of big tournaments and has been known to make the odd defensive error owing chiefly to lapses in concentration.
What is the World Cup group draw?
The 2022 World Cup will begin with 32 teams in eight groups of four:
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Sunday November 20
Group A: Qatar 0-2 Ecuador
Monday November 21
Group B: England 6-2 Iran
Group A: Senegal 0-2 Netherlands
Group B: USA 1-1 Wales
Tuesday November 22
Group C: Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia
Group D: Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
Group C: Mexico 0-0 Poland
Group D: France 4-1 Australia
Wednesday November 23
Group F: Morocco 0-0 Croatia
Group E: Germany 1-2 Japan
Group E: Spain 7-0 Costa Rica
Group F: Belgium 1-0 Canada
Thursday November 24
Group G: Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon
Group H: Uruguay 0-0 South Korea
Group H: Portugal 3-2 Ghana
Group G: Brazil 2-0 Serbia
Friday November 25
Group B: Wales 0-2 Iran
Group A: Qatar 1-3 Senegal
Group A: Netherlands 1-1 Ecuador
Group B: England 0-0 USA
Saturday November 26
Group D: Tunisia vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 10am)
Group C: Poland vs Saudi Arabia (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 1pm)
Group D: France vs Denmark (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 4pm)
Group C: Argentina vs Mexico (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Sunday November 27
Group E: Japan vs Costa Rica (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 10am)
Group F: Belgium vs Morocco (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 1pm)
Group F: Croatia vs Canada (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 4pm)
Group E: Spain vs Germany (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Monday November 28
Group G: Cameroon vs Serbia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 10am)
Group H: South Korea vs Ghana (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 1pm)
Group G: Brazil vs Switzerland (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 4pm)
Group H: Portugal vs Uruguay (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Tuesday November 29
Group A: Netherlands vs Qatar (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 3pm)
Group A: Ecuador vs Senegal (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
Group B: Wales vs England (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 7pm)
Group B: Iran vs USA (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Wednesday November 30
Group D: Australia vs Denmark (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 3pm)
Group D: Tunisia vs France (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
Group C: Poland vs Argentina (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 7pm)
Group C: Saudi Arabia vs Mexico (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Thursday December 1
Group F: Croatia vs Belgium (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
Group F: Canada vs Morocco (Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 3pm)
Group E: Costa Rica vs Germany (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Group E: Japan vs Spain (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 7pm)
Friday, December 2
Group H: South Korea vs Portugal (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
Group H: Ghana vs Uruguay (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 3pm)
Group G: Serbia vs Switzerland (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 7pm)
Group G: Cameroon vs Brazil (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Round of 16
Saturday December 3
49 – Winners of Group A vs Runners-up of Group B (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
50 – Winners of Group C vs Runners-up of Group D (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 7pm)
Sunday December 4
52 – Winners of Group D vs Runners-up of Group C (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha; kick-off 3pm)
51 – Winners of Group B vs Runners-up of Group A (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Monday December 5
53 – Winners of Group E vs Runners-up of Group F (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; kick-off 3pm)
54 – Winners of Group G vs Runners-up of Group H (Stadium 974, Doha; kick-off 7pm)
Tuesday December 6
55 – Winners of Group F vs Runners-up of Group E (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
56 – Winners of Group H vs Runners-up of Group G (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Quarter-finals
Friday December 9
58 – Winners of 53 vs Winners of 54 (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
57 – Winners of 49 vs Winners of 50 (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; 7pm)
Saturday December 10
60 – Winners of 55 vs Winners of 56 (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha; kick-off 3pm)
59 – Winners of 51 vs Winners of 52 (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Semi-finals
Tuesday December 13
61 – Winners of 57 vs Winners of 58 (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 7pm)
Wednesday December 14
62 – Winners of 59 vs Winners of 60 (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; kick-off 7pm)
Saturday December 17
63 – Third place play-off (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; kick-off 3pm)
Final
Sunday December 18
64 – The World Cup final (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; kick-off 3pm)
