Technology helps France beat gritty Australia 2-1 in Group C
KAZAN, Russia — Technology twice helped France at the World Cup on Saturday as the 1998 champions laboured to beat a gritty Australia 2-1 in their opening game.
The French team was given a controversial penalty kick, eventually converted by Antoine Griezmann in the 58th minute, after the referee watched the replay of a foul on the sideline.
Paul Pogba later scored the winning goal in the 81st minute, and goal-line technology was used to confirm the ball had crossed the line after bouncing down off the crossbar.
“I’m not going to complain about the use of video today,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “It helped correct a mistake.”