France can still succeed as world champions. Kylian Mbappe again turned out to be the best player in the 1/8 final against Poland. He provided the opening Giro and after the break he brilliantly fired in two more himself. Oh yeah, in the end Lewandowski signed as an honor saver on his second try out of the spot.
France – Poland in a nutshell
- Key moment: Poland keeps pace in the first half and even gives an excellent opportunity to take the lead, but the French strike just before half-time. After Giraud’s goal, France takes over firmly not to let go.
- man of the match It looked as if Mbappé didn’t want to share the spotlight with Giroud. After the 1-0, which he prepared himself, he categorically went in search of personal success. If that works too, in such a righteous way, you’ll be right.
- noticeable: It was a recording night for the French. Griezmann played his 71st consecutive international match, Lloris became the joint record holder with his 142nd cap, Giroud became France’s all-time top scorer with 52 goals and Mbappe became the youngest player ever with 9 World Cup goals.
Poland surprises and makes things difficult for France
The first minutes expected a French push on the Polish redoubt, but Les Bleus soon took a more cautious stance. Poland did not come to Al Thumama to hide either. This made it an interesting piece to watch.
The danger was mainly colored blue. Tchoameni and Dembele dealt harassing punches, as did Lewandowski across the street. After losing the Polish ball, the alarm really went off for the first time, but Giro almost certainly missed a goal. A little later, the Poles had to swear. Zielinski fired an excellent shot straight at Lloris, who was assisted on the line by Hernandez and Varane.
Just before half-time, Giroud showed that his confidence had not faltered. He used Mbappé’s help as a real predator. With his 52 goals, he became France’s all-time top scorer.
Mbappe again shows an extraterrestrial class
The question is how long Jiro can hold this title. After all, in the second half Mbappe absorbed balls and attention. Sometimes overconfident and opportunistic, but always with an unwavering belief in one’s abilities.
Jiro stole admiring glances with a sadly blocked bicycle kick, but in the end he couldn’t rival his younger teammate’s charm. With an astronomical shot into the roof of the goal and a deft place ball into the farthest square, he gave Poland an award Bullet of mercy.
The Poles, and Lewandowski in particular, received a sweet send-off in a very long finale. After Desasi’s unfortunate handball was spotted by the VAR, Liwa had two chances to convert a penalty kick. Their 3-1 victory was just the margin of France’s run to a second successive world title. With Mbappe as the undisputed general.
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Lewandowski saves (twice) Polish honor from his place
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Milik almost scored with a great bicycle kick
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Mbappe adds another great goal: 3-0 “His kicking style is another style!”
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