Socceroos boss Graham Arnold has cheekily fired back at French players who have seemingly disregarded the talent of the Australian side.
French defender Ibrahima Konate and striker Olivier Giroud both seemed to downplay the chances of the Socceroos claiming an upset over the World Cup winners.
Konate went as far as claiming he hadn’t heard of a single Socceroos player in a brutal message sent to the Aussie players.
When asked about Konate’s comments, Arnold gave a hilarious tongue-in-cheek response.
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Arnold asked: “Doesn’t he have Paramount+?”
While Arnie seemingly knows it’s unlikely the Liverpool defender keeps up with the A-League, the Australian coach was eager to show the French exactly who his players are.
He said: “It's our job to go out there tomorrow and show them who we are as a nation.
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"The players have the stage, it's their stage. And this is an opportunity in life that can change their life even more than what they have now. "
The 59-year-old wanted to reiterate how lucky any player is to compete on the world stage - with many not making it to this point in their career.
He continued: “A lot of players don't get one chance.
"And all I'll just say is - every player needs to look at Martin Boyle today, and realise how fortunate they are to be here and run off the back of that.
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"Obviously he's out, and these players are pumped and ready to go - and that's the most important thing."
Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan is onto his third World Cup with the country, and reiterated Arnold’s stance and insisted the boys had the right mentality heading into a crucial game.
He said: “The biggest focus for us has been the mentality.
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"And the boys have grasped the mentality that we go into every game whoever we are facing with the right amount of respect."
The World Cup holders are clear favourites against the Socceroos, however, with an increasing injury list the Socceroos may be in with a chance.
Ryan maintained that the boys were ready for the challenge.
He said: “We don't underestimate anybody and we don't over-respect anyone, and that's a real challenge. I think for us, in my personal experiences, that's the first step in preparing for matches, is to get that spot on.
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"The boys have embraced that and it's all about going out and executing that tomorrow night.
“We're playing some very good players in a good team tomorrow, but we're all human out there and it's about getting ready for this game and doing everything we possibly can in what we've learned and prepared for and going out there and executing it.
"I feel if we do that to the standards that we've set, we've got a real good chance to win tomorrow night."
Topics: Australia, France, Football World Cup, Qatar, Football
Jayden Collins