AL THUMAMA, Qatar — France breezed into the World Cup quarterfinals in Qatar thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe.
Who defeated Poland 3-1 to make history and knock Poland out of the tournament.
A late consolation for the Poles came from Robert Lewandowski’s stoppage-time penalty, which was taken twice.
Because Hugo Lloris moved too quickly to save the first spot-kick.
Despite coming close to scoring in the first half, Poland, which had advanced to the round of 16 ahead of Mexico based on goal difference, was unable to counter the world champions’ attacking skills.
However, despite a sluggish start to the match, France won the tie easily to advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face either England or Senegal.
Quick response:
1. Olivier Giroud is now France’s all-time leading scorer
After leading the world champions to a round-of-16 victory over Poland thanks to another impressive performance by Giroud.
The 36-year-old AC Milan forward scored his 52nd goal for Les Bleus in the first half when he latched onto Kylian Mbappe’s pass and shot with his left foot past Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
This goal put him ahead of Thierry Henry as the most prolific scorer for his country.
Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Nicolas Anelka, Michel Platini, and Jean-Pierre Papin are just a few of the incredible attacking talents France has produced over the years.
Giroud has more than every one of them yet keeps on battling for the acknowledgment that his accomplishments merit.
However, despite the fact that the previous Arms stockpile and Chelsea striker is under-evaluated by so many, Didier Deschamps knows precisely exact thing he brings to the France group, particularly now that Karim Benzema’s physical issue has managed him out of the competition.
Regardless of whom France face in the last eight – – Britain or Senegal – – Giroud will act like huge an issue as the fantastic Mbappe.
Mbappe’s pace and goal threat make every team nervous, but Giroud will take advantage of any opportunity in the penalty area.
Anyone who underestimates Giroud runs the risk of losing their World Cup hopes.
2.France reach the last eight, but injuries could prevent them from winning.
The fact that France, the defending champions, have reached the quarterfinals without even coming close to hitting top gear thus far in the competition is a positive sign for Deschamps and his players because it suggests that more is to come.
However, it’s possible that there isn’t, and it’s also possible that all of France’s injuries to key players are beginning to hamper the team’s ability to achieve its full potential.
They have made it this far without playing a good team, but as the tournament comes to a close.
The injuries to their best players will really start to hurt them.
It might mean the difference between winning the World Cup and losing to the first good team they play.
3.Poland:good goalkeeper and striker, but not much else.
Poland reached the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
However, their matchup with France always seemed like the end of the road for Czeslaw Michniewicz’s squad.
Poland are nothing more than a very ordinary team that happens to have a world-class striker in Robert Lewandowski and a world-class goalkeeper in Wojciech Szczesny.
To put it simply, Poland are nothing more than that.
Without Barcelona’s Lewandowski and Juventus guardian Szczesny, it is challenging to see Poland in any event, fitting the bill for the World Cup, never mind advancing from the gathering stage.