France got the World Cup going on a high. It remains to be seen what the capacity of the quality squad can achieve, Qatar posed no threat whatsoever in the journey towards 37–19.
France left Elohim Prandi in the stands for the premiere but had an option to bring Dika Mem in play, which seemed very unlikely just a month ago.
The blue squad was surely fuelled by revenge after the early exit in the Olympic tournament and offered adequate capacity and offensive entertainment to open the campaign with a win.
Mem´s first goal contribution, 12–6 meant that France already was in. The fast-break mode was activated with Qatar definitely more prone to make passing mistakes.
Even the last eight seconds until halftime, after a timeout from Guillaume Gille, was well taken care of. France extended the lead to 18–10 via a precise shot from Romain Lagarde.
With twelve goal scorers until the break France had a smooth run. Qatar offered few solutions and was too easy to figure out in uninspired attacks.
There might be some future hope if Vaseline Vujovic´s team had a save your breath tactic going. If so, the goalkeeper Anadin Sulijakovic had other things in mind with some excellent saves right after the break.
France was nonetheless out of reach and could allow slightly choppy progression towards the end. Thibaud Briet became top scorer in the winning team with seven goals.
France–Qatar 37–19 (18–10)