Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was first up, skippering France to a 2-1 victory over Australia in their Group C opener in Kazan.
Having pulled off an impressive early stop, Hugo was beaten by Mile Jedinak’s 62nd-minute penalty, which cancelled out Antoine Griezmann’s own spot kick for Les Bleus a few moments earlier. However, Paul Pogba’s effort 10 minutes from time saw France surge straight to the top of the standings.
Behind them only on goals scored are Denmark, for whom Christian Eriksen assisted the game’s only goal as they took on Peru in Saransk later in the day.