Leckie outlines approach against France

Mathew Leckie says his side cannot afford to show France too much respect but stressed the team is completely aware of the quality they possess.

Australia begins its opening match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ against the reigning world champions on Wednesday morning 6am AEDT.

Leckie suggested they will need to take the game to Les Bleus while staying disciplined in their shape and being physical.

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“I think we just need to get at them and respect, obviously, that they’re a quality side with quality individuals, but not too much respect in the sense that we don't play our game,” he told reporters.

“It was a tough match for them last time and we want to do the same thing and we have to control or implement the things that we can do equal to them.

“And that's bringing the physical battle and the mindset that everyone works for 90 minutes with and without the ball.

“If we're a compact team without the ball, it's always hard to break down teams."

However, the Aussies will be without Martin Boyle who was unable to recover from a knee injury he sustained with Hibernian and has been replaced with Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio.

READ MORE: Martin Boyle withdrawn from Socceroos’ FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ squad

Leckie admitted the squad were devastated for him but was glad he will remain in the camp and support the team.

“Obviously, he's had his moments where he's thought over the whole situation and is devastated and disappointed,” he revealed.

“But one thing is, he obviously gave everything he could to try to get himself fit, and he wanted to give it a real crack and it was just not meant to be so.

“… What I understand is he'll stay around the camp for the campaign, which is good, because he deserves it and he's a good guy to have around the group as well.”

But as one door closes, another opportunity opens and Leckie believed his City teammate in Tilio is a more than adequate replacement.

“He was also preparing to give himself every opportunity to be selected,” Leckie revealed.

“And now he's here and it's ironically similar to his Olympics campaign (Tokyo 2020) where he came in late and he scored a goal against Argentina.

“So, Marco is a very talented player and he's a player that can make things happen in moments in a game.

“I'm sure he's super excited, if he gets his chance, he’ll definitely take it.”

With two of the three group opponents the same as four years ago in Russia for the Socceroos, Leckie believes they have a second chance at redemption.

France and Denmark were both in the Green and Gold’s group during the 2018 iteration and the 31-year-old felt they were extremely competitive but just lost out in the “small details”.

A gallant Australia side lost 2-1 to the French before recording a 1-1 draw against the Danes.

The former Hertha Berlin forward is the second most experienced member in the squad behind Maty Ryan with 73 caps and 13 goals.

He has also played every minute of Australia’s group stage matches in 2014 and 2018.

Now heading into his third tournament, Leckie is confident this squad can improve on the past and do damage.

“Ironically, we play two of the same teams, and in the leadership group we said this is our second chance, almost, because we play against two of the exact same teams as last time,” he explained.

“And we were so close, but so far last time and although we threw everything at it, it was small details that we missed out.

"So it's a second chance to make things right and give us an opportunity to make things go the other way.

“We've always had belief as a squad, but I think the belief is even more there on how well we did against them last time and it's just the one or 2% more that will get us over the line.”

Indeed, France are missing a string of key players through injury with Karim Benzema the latest to succumb to a thigh issue he reaggravated in training.

Leckie admitted while the Real Madrid star is a huge loss for Didier Deschamps’ team, they have enough quality to fill the void.

He added from a tournament perspective it is always sad when the top players in the world miss major competitions like the FIFA World Cup.

"It's obviously a big player in the world, the best striker in the world right now, but in saying that, go across their whole squad and all the players," he continued.

“The player that will replace him is just as good. So, we're not really looking or thinking too much about individuals.

"We know what the individuals can bring. We just need to be on the day a better team, rather than better individuals, and like Boyley (Martin Boyle), it's a disappointing thing.

“Obviously, he's a great player, and you want to see those type of players in a World Cup.

“So it's obviously disappointing for Benzema, but we're not thinking too much about that. We're more thinking about the game in general.”