Mbappe takes France to the quarterfinals of the World Cup 2022
A superb double and a pass to clear the way for a teammate to score is the dream of any player in the knockout round of the World Cup, and Mbappe did this before he was 24 years old. France's "Number 10" has scored nine goals at World Cups, an achievement Lionel Messi has just achieved in the final period of his career. Mbappe also rose to the top of the race to win the top scorer award with five goals, while France reached the quarter-finals for the third time in a row.
Mbappe continuously stirred France's left wing from the start, before he shone with a slot to clear the space for Olivier Giroud to face the goalkeeper in the 44th minute. The 36-year-old striker turned to hit the ground and cross the corner to knock the goalkeeper out. Wojciech Szczesny, open the scoring. Giroud also became the top scorer in French history with 52 goals, surpassing Thierry Henry's record. Before that, he also missed an opportunity to stretch the ball in front of an empty goal, from Ousmane Dembele's cross.
Giroud's goal came at the crucial moment, just minutes after the Poles had missed their tenth chance. Midfielder Przemysław Frankowski dribbled past Jules Kounde on the left wing of Poland and then passed to fix the back of the French defence. Piotr Zielinski rushed forward to shoot but hit goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the knees. The ball bounced off and Thomas Kaminski kicked back but was cleared by center back Raphael Varane right on the goal line. The British newspaper Guardian commented that "I don't understand why Poland did not put the ball in the net in this opportunity".
Once France took the lead, Poland's chances of winning were almost gone. But to ensure a safe distance, coach Didier Deschamps still directed his students to attack in the second half.
It was not until the 74th minute that they found the second goal from a counter-attack. Antoine Griezmann went to the box to break the ball up for Giroud in the middle of the field, open the ball to the right for Dembele. Giroud attracted the Polish defender to let Dembele pass into the penalty area for Mbappe in an open position. Although the two Polish defenders were able to move forward, Mbappe still found a space to shoot near the high corner to defeat Szczesny. Coach Deschamps raised his hands to laugh at the table, while coach Czesław Michniewicz got angry and scolded his students.
Mbappe continued to perform for the audience in Doha with a masterpiece in the first minute of the second half. Striker Marcus Thuram received the ball on the left and then passed it into the penalty area for Mbappe to the left and cut his heart to the long-range high corner. Even though Szczesny got his hand on the ball, he was still unable to save.
Poland only recovered one goal in the last minute, when Kamil Grosicki crossed the ball into the hand of midfielder Dayot Upamecano in the French penalty area. Thanks to VAR, referee Jesus Valenzuela blew the penalty and gave Robert Lewandowski the chance.
He initially shot to the bottom right corner and was caught by Lloris, but the referee penalized the French goalkeeper to step over the line before the ball rolled. Lewandowski was kicked again and this time he shot in the opposite direction to leave the tournament with two goals. The Polish captain smiled at this table, then happily chatted with Mbappe after the final whistle.
France reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the ninth time, and they will meet England - who just won Senegal 3-0 - on December 10 at Al Bayt Stadium.
Lloris, Kounde (Disasi 91), Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez, Tchouameni (Y Fofana 66), Rabiot, Dembele (Coman 76), Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud (Thuram 76).
Ba Lan: Szczesny, Bereszynski, Glik, Kiwior (Bednarek 87), Cash, Krychowiak (Bielik 71), Zielinski, Szymanski (Milik 64), Frankowski (Grosicki 87), Kaminski (Zalewski 71), Lewandowski.
