DPA
Doha
Kylian Mbappe netted a brace and set up another to help France beat Poland 3-1 on Sunday and fire his side into the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.
Olivier Giroud scored his 52nd goal for France to become their top goalscorer ahead of Thierry Henry with a lovely finish to complete Mbappe’s assist in the 44th minute.
“This is brilliant. My family is here, it’s great, a childhood dream,” Giroud said of his goal.
“But my goal was to give everything for the team,” he said. “The adventure continues.” Giroud found the net again in the 57th but his beautiful finish with a bicycle kick didn’t make into the scoresheet as the game had already been stopped due to a collision between keeper Wojciech Szczesny and Varane.
It was then up to Mbappe in the 75th to seal France’s spot in the quarter-finals as he curled the ball into the near top corner, and the Paris Saint-Germain forward added a second to his name with a late effort into the far corner for a tournament leading five goals overall.
Poland pulled one back in stoppage time from a Robert Lewandowski spot-kick but it was already too late for a comeback.
“We did our homework and got through the group stage. We didn’t manage that for 36 years. But then, unfortunately, we met the world champions,” said Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz.
France will on Saturday meet the winner of the clash between England and Senegal, who play later on Sunday.
“When you see Kylian, with his skills, you can solve a lot of problems,” France coach Didier Deschamps said, but stressed: “It was a team effort from the start.” France were the most dangerous team from the start and saw Aurelien Tchouaméni’s effort denied by Szczesny in the 12th minute. Giroud also missed a chance as he failed to slide Ousmane Dembele’s low cross into the empty net.
Poland had their most threatening moment in the 38th. Piotr Zielinski was first denied by Hugo Lloris, then blocked by Theo Hernández.
Jakub Kaminski had a third attempt but Raphael Varane cleared it off the line.
France were then quick to respond and Giroud wrote his name in the nation’s history books by finishing off Mbappe’s assist. But France were wasteful at the start of the second half, missing good chances with Antoine Griezmann’s free-kick and also Mbappe.
Giroud could have increased his record but his stunning bicycle kick goal served only to add some beauty to the game, as it was disallowed.
If the Poles had any hopes of finding the equalizer, those were dismissed when Mbappe curled the ball twice in the top corner to put the game to bed.
In the final minutes, Poland were awarded a penalty after Dayot Upamecano touched the ball with his hand. All-time top scorer Lewandowkski had his first spot-kick saved by Lloris, but the Franch keeper was off his line.
Lewandowski didn’t miss the second attempt, but there was nothing else he can do as that was the final act of the game.
Michniewicz didn’t want to speculate about his and Lewandowski’s future at the national team.
“My future doesn’t matter today. I know you are interested. But let’s talk about the national team,” he told reporters.
About Lewandowski, he added: “I don’t think I should talk about his future. He’s our captain, he decides for himself.”
Speaking to the Le Parisien ahead of the game, French President Emmanuel Macron got the final result right and even guessed who would score the goals.
“I think we will win 3-1! Lewandowski will score one, like Mbappe or maybe Giroud,” he said.
