The World Champions avoided yet another banana skin with a professional 3-1 win over Poland. In truth, France were never required to leave second gear to beat a passive Poland. Robert Lewandowski could not find a moment of inspiration in what was a largely turgid display from his side. The game will be remembered for Olivier Giroud making history and very little else.
Kylian Mbappe set his stall out from the first whistle. On two occasions the PSG man left Matty Cash in the dust. Mbappe’s crosses were both cleared, but it was a hint at where this game could be won and lost for the World Champions. Olivier Giroud was also allowed to run into that left channel unchecked as he narrowly missed from Ousmane Demebele’s cross.
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With it all on the line, Poland showed more ambition than they did in their limp 2-0 loss to Argentina. Piotr Zielinski forced a fine reaction save from Hugo Lloris, before two last-ditch blocks prevented attempts on the rebound. There would also be a gasp-inducing shot into the side netting from Jakub Kaminski.
But the biggest moment of the half arrived when Giroud broke Thierry Henry’s all-time goalscoring record for France. The AC Milan striker slotted home an elegant through-ball from Mbappe to give France the lead. In doing so, he became the first player to score 52 goals for the French national team.
Antoine Griezmann had a free kick punched away from goal by Wojiech Szczesny at the outset of the second half. Dembele’s lightning pace almost got him in behind the Polish defence soon after too. It was a positive start to the second period by Didier Deschamps’ men.
Giroud almost extended his newly-minted record with a signature overhead kick. The referee pulled play back for a supposed foul on the keeper by Raphael Varane. A sad waste of a supreme piece of bravado and skill from Giroud.
France would get their second though and the source surprised absolutely no one watching. Mbappe once again turned up when his team needed him to produce another moment of World Cup magic. A counter-attack ended with the ball at Mbappe’s feet wide on the left. He put his foot through it with heavyweight power to double France’s lead.
Poland were just going through the motions now. After showing a little bit of ambition in the first half, their second period was characterised by the same blase attitude they showed in their final group game against Argentina. They let this opportunity slip away, perhaps not grasping the fact this could be their last tournament with a genuine world class talent in the number nine role for a long time.
One player on the pitch who never lacks for ambition was Mbappe. Solidifying his standing as this tournament’s premier talent, the PSG striker curled in an injury time second, rippling the corner of the Polish net. It was an emphatic exclamation point on yet another highlight reel performance for the 23-year-old.
Poland were handed a late penalty via the all-too-common cocktail of a marginal handball and VAR. Lewandowski took his second tournament penalty, and once again he missed. At least that's how it appeared as Lloris read the stuttered run-up. But a retake was ordered as Lloris had stepped prematurely off his line. The second time, Lewandowski found the net. It's not how he would have liked his World Cup to end, but at least he got some consolation for his efforts.
France’s credentials as potential winners have only been strengthened. You would be foolish to bet against any team that has Mbappe, who has now surpassed Pele for goals scored at a World Cup before the age of 24. But their quality runs even deeper. Bolstered by a number of players who know what it’s like to win this particular honour, they seem a safe bet to go much, much further in Qatar.
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