If there is one thing the Socceroos will need in their World Cup match against defending champions France on Wednesday morning at 6am (AEDT), it is belief.
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And if there is another thing Australia will need to do it is to remain calm despite coming up against the best in the world.
Read more: Family support high for Socceroo King
France's firepower is frightening. In their attack, they have arguably the best young player in the world Kylian Mbappe and the 2018 World Cup's second highest goalscorer in Antoine Griezmann. They even have Olivier Giroud who will most likely start on the bench for 'Les Bleus' against the Socceroos despite having nearly 300 EPL appearances to his name and still playing well for AC Milan in Italy.
That's just their forward line. They also boast the likes of Hugo Lloris, Adrien Rabiot, Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez.
It's enough to overwhelm any side in world football. But for the Socceroos, they do not have time to let nerves get the better of them.
That is the opinion of former Shellharbour junior Joel King, who will be vying for a starting spot in Graham Arnold's team come Wednesday morning.
He told the Mercury prior to the Socceroos' opener that he found it hard to put into words how big of a test France would give the side.
"I don't need to explain to how how big of a game the first match will be," King said.
"It's France, big names, big players and big expectations. The pressure is on them so there's no reason for us to be held back. I believe if we go into the game thinking we're second best then we've already lost.
The pressure is on them so there's no reason for us to be held back.
- Joel King
"We have to be confident and back ourselves because at the end of the day it's just 11 players against another set of 11 players," he said.
On a personal note, King will face a battle of his own to make the starting line up for the first match.
He will be up against long-time Socceroos full-back Aziz Behich for a spot on the left side of defence, King's preferred position.
Although the 22-year-old will be doing everything to get into the starting team, he said he hoped to make an impact no matter what his role would be in Qatar.
"I am ready to play whether it be from the start of off the bench, but at the end of the day it's the decision of the boss and either way I'll be doing my best to help the team in any way I can," he said.
"My goal for the World Cup is to get out of the group. Obviously it's going to be hard but I think there's no chance we can do anything if we don't believe in ourselves and have confidence going into these games."
The Socceroos will look to avoid a heavy defeat to France early up as it would drastically reduce their opportunity for qualification to the round of 16 and would put the team under massive pressure in later fixtures against Tunisia and Denmark - which will also not be easy. Australia play Tunisia November 26 at 9pm (AEDT) and then Denmark December 1 at 2am (AEDT).
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