The second day of the knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar was promised with plenty of goals since France (Six goals in three group matches) and England (Nine goals in three group matches) were in the mix, and spectators were not downhearted. A brace from the sublime Kylian Mbappé and a strike from the record-breaking Olivier Giroud gave France a ticket to the quarterfinal while England defeated their Senegalese opponent 3-0, with Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham continuing to shine.
Poland Came Close to Score in the First Half
The Polish players tried hard to exploit France’s slow start to the game, especially in the first half, and their efforts almost bore fruits, if it was not Hugo Lloris’ saves. Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski had an open shot outside the box in the 21st minute, which saw his left-footed strike shot wide. Biało-czerwoni was unlucky to have three shots being denied in a row by the French defence in the span of two minutes late in the first half, and Les Bleus turned their good fortune into a goal, courtersy of a record-breaking conversion.
Giroud Became France’s All-Time Top Scorer
Right before the half-time whistle, Paris Saint-Germain’s star man Kylian Mbappé passed a through ball into the box, in which Olivier Giroud converted his 52nd tally for his country, overtaking Thierry Henry’s all-time goal scoring record for France in the process. The goal was a classic no. 9 strike, with Giroud turned to hit the shoot without looking at the goal and its keeper as he knew exactly where the strike is going to end up in.
It Is Kylian Mbappé’s World and We Are All Just Living in It
France knew they had to keep their momentum going, and Didier Deschamps’ men dominated the next 45 minutes, with Kylian Mbappé stealing the show once again for Les Bleus. France pushed for a second goal for an extensive period of time and they finally did so in the 74th minute. The 23-year-old Mbappé was given space on the left flank, and he took that to his advantage, finishing the devastating French counterattack with a hard strike into the near post. The Paris-born forward then killed the game off from similar spot seconds into the added time, a strike that curled from his right foot to the far post. The goal meant the best young player in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia is now the leading scorer of this year’s competition with five goals. Poland was awarded a penalty in the dying moments of the game and its captain Lewandowski gave the Polish side a consolation goal after retaking the spot kick.
England awaits Les Bleus next in the quarterfinal of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after they overcame their African opponent, Senegal.
France are three wins away from defending their World Cup trophy 🏆 pic.twitter.com/TkJQ8vmN0E
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 4, 2022
Did you know that Groups E and F had tough fights in the find round of group matches in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar? Read here for more.
(Photo Credits: Sky News)
