France beat Poland to advance to the quarter-finals
France faced Poland in the round of 16 of the World Cup, and the focus of watching the match will be the head-to-head confrontation between star strikers Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski. In the group stage, Mbappe scored in France’s two victories and was a key figure in determining how far France’s World Cup path can go.
Both teams had a 4-5-1 formation in the game, and each had chances to score goals in the first half. Until the 44th minute of the game, France relied on veteran striker Olivier Giroud to score, helping the team enter the second half with a 1-point lead. In the 74th minute of the second half, it was Mbappe’s turn to add another insurance point, and achieved another goal in stoppage time, scoring twice in a single game. Although Poland captain Lewandowski managed a 12-yard ball and successfully tricked the French goalkeeper into kicking the ball into the goal, France still eliminated Poland 3-1.
It is worth mentioning that Olivier Giroud’s goal in this field is the third goal of this year and the 52nd goal in the national team’s career. It surpassed the original 51-team history record of French passing star Thierry Henry and became the newest goal king in team history. Mbappe scored 9 goals after this game, becoming the player with the most goals scored in the World Cup under the age of 24, surpassing the previous record holder “Brazilian King” Pele’s 8 goals.