DOHA, Qatar | France continue the defense of their world championship title with a 3-1 victory against Poland signed Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud.
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The first was brilliant with two goals and an assist; the second scored a goal in addition to being the start of the sequence that led to Mbappé’s first goal and setting a French team record with a 52 nd career goal.
Despite what the result indicates, the French didn’t necessarily have it easy against a Poland that was abrasive and resilient.
They also obtained a penalty shot at the very end of the match following a video review which confirmed a hand. Robert Lewandowski was stopped by Hugo Lloris, who had however left his line too early. The Pole resumed his shot and scored for the honor (90+9).
The French will face England in the quarter-finals next Saturday.
Giroud record keeper
The Blues waited until the 44th minute before opening the scoring. Launched by a pass from Kylian Mbappé, Olivier Giroud went behind two defenders to beat Wojciech Szczesny.
Giroud thus became the top scorer in the history of the French team with 52 goals, a record he achieved on his 116th cap.
He had shared the mark with Thierry Henry since last week, when he netted a brace against Australia. Henry scored his 51 goals in 123 games.
To say that Giroud is often considered an unloved and that he is above all up for it because Karim Benzema had to withdraw due to an injury. It’s a nice form of justice for the AC Milan veteran.
An artist
Mbappé has once again imposed his dominance on this meeting, he who has a record of five goals and two assists in three games at this World Cup.
For some athletes, sport is art: Mbappé is a Grand Master and the grass is his canvas.
On his goal scored in the 74 th minute, he practically stopped play to place the ball on his right foot and send his shot into the top corner while two opposing defenders watched him.
On his second success, he still had time to position the ball on his right foot, even if he was surrounded by Poles, to send a missile into the opposite corner in stoppage time (90 + 1).