Defending champions France take on Poland in their FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 clash on Sunday afternoon.
Kylian Mbappe led France will look to punch their ticket to the last eight of the World Cup when they take on Poland in the last-16 at on at the Al-Thumama Stadium on Sunday.
Didier Deschamps’ side cruised through the group stage and advanced to the round of 16 with a game to spare, allowing Deschamps to rest his major players in France’s dead-rubber encounter against Tunisia.
Les Blues made a wholesale nine changes for their game against the North African opponent and fell to a surprise 1-0 loss in their final group game, with Adrien Rabiot, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann all coming off the bench late in the game.
Despite their loss, France go into the game as overwhelming favorites to beat Poland after snapping the long-running underperformance jinx by becoming the first defending World Cup winner to reach the round of 16 since Brazil in 2006.
Needless to say, Mbappe was France’s talisman in the group stages, getting on the scoresheet three times during Les Bleus’ opening two group games, having opened his account in a 4-1 victory over Australia before bagging a brace to drag his country over the line in a tricky game against Denmark.
The France superstar will have his sights set on winning the highly coveted World Cup Golden Boot, and this match against a weak Polish defence might provide an excellent opportunity for him to distance himself from the rest of the chasing pack as France looks to put Poland to the sword here.
On the other hand, Poland progressed for the knockout stages by a hair’s breadth, mainly after their 2-0 loss to Argentina in the last group game.
At one point in time, the White and Reds were on their way to round 16 only because they had less yellow cards than Mexico, but Saudi Arabia’s late strike in the simultaneous game guaranteed Poland made it to the knockout round for the first time since 1986.
They are clearly the underdogs here, and much of their hopes will rest on the shoulders of the Prolific Pole, Robert Lewandowski, who recently broke his World Cup duck with a goal against Saudi Arabia.
Juventus shot-stopper Wojciech Szczesny has kept Poland’s hopes alive thus far in the tournament. He has saved two penalties and is set for another busy night in between the sticks for Poland here.
France XI (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud
Poland XI (4-4-2): Szczesny; Cash, Glik, Kiwior, Bereszynski; Frankowski, Bielik, Krychowiak, Zielinski; Lewandowski, Milik
The winner of this match will face the victor of England’s last-16 clash against Senegal in the final-8 next Saturday. With France and England the odds-on favourites to come out on top today, a mouth-watering quarterfinal tie could be on the cards.
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