Graham Arnold has refused to mention the names of France s star players, including Kylian Mbappe, ahead of Australia s clash against the World Cup holders.
The Socceroos meet Les Bleus for the second successive finals, with Paul Pogba s deflected late strike sealing a narrow 2-1 win for Didier Deschamps side in Russia four years ago.
Australia head into their Group D opener having failed to register a clean sheet in 10 previous World Cup matches against European nations, with their only clean sheet at the finals against any opposition coming in a goalless draw against Chile in 1974.
But Arnold, who was the Socceroos assistant to Pim Verbeek at the 2010 tournament in South Africa, has tried to ease the pressure on his players.
It s not being disrespectful…