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Rabat – France’s national football team defeated Poland 3-1 in the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, securing a spot in the tournament’s quarter-finals.
Poland showed up with a noticeably stronger performance than in their game against Argentina, penetrating France’s half of the pitch. The Polish side, led by Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski could not find the back of the net, however.
French striker Olivier Giroud was able to take advantage of an assist by teammate and PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe in the 44th minute, putting France in the lead.
As he put the ball in the bottom-right corner of the net, Giroud also achieved an important personal feat, surpassing French legend Thierry Henry to become France’s all-time top scorer with 52 goals.
Young star Kylian Mbappe widened France’s lead in the 74th minute, becoming the top scorer of the tournament with four goals. Mbappe scored a third goal for France in the second half’s stoppage time, strengthening his position as the comeptition’s top scorer.
Lewandowski was able to score a penalty for Poland in the 9th minute of additional time, but it was too late for a Polish comeback as the referee whistled for full-time shortly after.
France will be facing England or Senegal in the quarter-finals. The two will play each other tonight at 20:00 Moroccan time.
As defending champions, France managed to escape the infamous World Cup champions curse as four out of five champions since 1998 were eliminated in the group stage of the first World Cup they participated in after winning the trophy.
France managed to defeat Australia 4-1 in their first game in Qatar and then sealed their place in the round of 16 with a 2-1 victory against Denmark. Although they lost 1-0 to Tunisia on the final matchday, Les Bleus were through to the next round.
Poland on the other hand barely made it to the knockouts, managing to go through instead of Mexico, after the latter conceded a last-minute goal from Saudi Arabia and lost on goal difference.
The Polish team held Mexico to a 0-0 draw and defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0, but were not able to hold back Argentina, who beat them 2-0 in the final group stage matchday.
