Mbappe and Giroud send France through to last eight with comfortable win over Poland

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Mbappe and Giroud send France through to last eight with comfortable win over Poland
Updated
Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for France
Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for France
AFP, StatsPerform
Olivier Giroud made history as he and Kylian Mbappe led France to a convincing 3-1 victory over Poland to progress to the quarter finals of the World Cup on Sunday afternoon at Al Thumama Stadium.

Full Time: France 3 Poland 1

18:04 CET: The goal of the game was Kylian Mbappe's first goal, which included contributions from France's front three. 

Kylian Mbappe's goal sequence
Opta by StatsPerform

And here are the full match stats for you to get your teeth into. What stands out for you?

France Poland stats
Opta by Stats Perform

17:57 CET: Despite that late penalty from Robert Lewandowski, it will be France heading into the quarter finals.

They were relatively dominant throughout and deserved their goals that came from Olivier Giroud in the first half and two from Kylian Mbappe in the second. 

Poland offered little going forward, but they did deserve a goal for their efforts, which Lewandowski gave them at the death, even if it was from the second attempt.

Check out our full report from the game, written by Jim Quinian, and we will wrap up all the best stats from this game shortly.

Second Half

98': The referee is looking at a penalty check on Upamecano and gives it after a VAR check. Lewandowski steps up to take the spot kick but MISSES, as Lloris saves it. However, the Polish striker will take it again for an infringement.

This time, he does score, making it 3-1 to France, with the game virtually done.

93': Five minutes added on and France are cruising into the last eight.

90': IT's THREE, MBAPPE AGAIN!

A perfect ending for France as they add a third through Kylian Mbappe. 

89': Late booking for Matty Cash. Poland are heading out of the World Cup here.

87': Two changes for Poland. Jan Bednarek and Kamil Grosicki both come on for Jakub Kwior and Przemyslaw Frankowski.

85': France toying with Poland now as they keep the ball with ease. Kingsley Coman tries to find Thuram with a cross, but it's just too long.

80': It feels like that second goal for France has taken all the wind out of Poland's sails, who are growing increaslingly frustrated. Nicola Zalewski brings down Marcis Thuram as time runs out for the Poles toget back into this game. From that free kick, Theo Hernandez has a good opportunity to get a show away, but blasts over.

76': And with that goal, France change their frontline, bringing off Giroud and Dembele for Kingsley Coman and Marcus Thuram.

75': FRANCE ON THE BREAK, MBAPPE MAKES IT TWO!

And just like that Poland's job gets so much harder. France break with their three attacking players, Giroud finds Dembele, who in turn picks out Mbappe and his finish is emphatic. With power and precision, he finds the top corner at the near post giving Szczesny no chance. Game over?

74': Poland have had their best spell of possession for the last few minutes, but have yet fashioned a chance with just one shot on goal in the whole game - that came in the first half.

70': Lewandowski doess well to win a foul in a promising area for Poland. They will make a double change before the free-kick as Grzegorz Krychowiak and Jakub Kaminski are replaced by Nicola Zalewski and Krystian Bielik. The free kick is headed over by Kamil Glik.

68': As the game ticks on, Poland will have to push more men forward in search of that equaliser. Right now, they are content with keeping the scoreline the same. You feel they will have to start going for it in the next 10 minutes or so.

66': Jules Kounde finding some space down the right side to pick out Giroud. He flicks the ball towards goal from a tight angle but it hits the side netting. France decide to make their first chance with Aurelien Tchouameni off for Youssoud Fofana on.

64': That will be Sebastian Szymanski's last action in the game as Poland bring on Arkadiusz Milik in his place.

62': Griezmann, again, running the show as he helps to set up Mbappe for a shot, but the PSG forward has the ball nipped off him by Szymanski.

58': A big collision between Szczesny and Varane leaves the Polish keeper on the floor in pain. The whistle had gone, but Giroud casually scores an overhead kick - it won't count, but that was good to watch. Both players are up and about.

57': Kylian Mbappe cuts in on his right foot and has his shot deflected just wide for a corner. From that set play, Poland are able to get the ball clear.

55': Griezmann glides forward moving the play from back to front from France and he nearly picks out Mbappe at the back post. Lovely movement from the Atletico Madrid playmaker.

51': Piotr Zielinski, who had a couple of chances in the first half, looks to be one of Poland's more technically gifted players, and he tries to beat France's defence on his own with a mazy dribble - Griezmann gets in his way.

48': Antoine Griezmann decides to shoot from the set piece and forces a good save from Wojciech Szczesny, who punches the ball clear.

47': Early booking in the second half for Bartosz Bereszynski for a foul on Ousmane Dembele. A good chence for France to cause a problem for Poland.

46': We are back under way in the second period of the game. You feel Poland won't want to change too much in the second half as they have proved problematic so far. For France, another goal will make them feel very comfortable.

Half Time

16:53 CET: A game where the match stats may look equal... 

First half statistics
Opta by StatsPerform

But the match momentum tells the real story.

First half momentum
Opta by StatsPerform

16:47 CET: After a half where both sides had chances to score, it fell to Olivier Giroud just before the break to underline why he is leading the line for France in place of the injured Karim Benzema. With his smart finish, he overtakes Thierry Henry to be the leading scorer in a France shirt.

Right now, all he will care about is his side remaining in the lead in the second half, but he has given them the perfect tonic at half time.

First Half

46': Poland nearly respond immediately. Jakub Kaminski gets a shot away, only to find the side netting after Lloris makes the save. The French keeper then nearly makes a huge mistake from the corner as he drops the ball onto Lewandowski's head, but he scrambles back to claim it.

45': Two minutes of additional time to play.

44': FRANCE ARE AHEAD! OLIVIER GIROUD!

Some lovely work from Kylian Mbappe and a clever pass sets Giroud in behind Poland's backline and the striker makes no mistake with a lovely finish to give his side the lead before half time.

41': A few minutes to go before the break and this game has been played a great pace. Poland have grown into this as the half has gone on and they will hope to keep the scoreline the same at the half. Jules Kounde is being asked to remove some necklaces by the referee - odd that wasn't done before the game.

38': SO CLOSE FROM POLAND! They break down the left with Bereszynski and get two shots away - one is saved by Lloris, the other blocked on the line by Varane. A golden chance to break the deadlock gone.

35': Some nice interplay from Poland finds Matty Cash - sometimes known as the 'Polish Cafu' - on the edge of the box. He fires a cross/shot into the danger are, but no-one can get a touch on the ball and it goes out for a goal kick. Poland's best spell of the match. Moments later, Mbappe forces a save at the near post from Szczesny.

33': However, all Lewandowski can do is hit the wall. 

31': Aurelien Tchouameni picks up the first yellow card of the game after a foul just outside his own penalty area. A great chance for Poland to test Hugo Lloris.

28': The best chance of the game falls to Giroud and he should score. Poland lose the ball in their own half and they are in trouble as Griezmann finds Dembele, who puts the ball across the six-yard area for a sliding Giroud, but he can't find the target. A big let-off for the Poles.

26': A free kick for Poland and a rare chance to get forward. It comes to nothing and it's Mbappe who can spring free. Poland do well to stop that fearsome attack.

22': Jules Kounde is the latest French player to test Szczesny with a long-range effort. Although powerful, he can't beat the keeper.

20': Last-gasp defending sees Poland keep out Giroud and Griezmann from Tchouameni's cross. Afterwards, Lewandowski has his first effort of the game from range and it goes narrowly wide of the mark. A good hit from that distance.

18': Robert Lewandowski already dropping deep for the ball and he tries to lift a cross into the box. Not a strong point of his game and it shows as he overhits the pass. He needs to be one getting onto those for Poland.

16': Dembele with another effort for France - he cuts inside on his left foot, which he has done regularly so far in this encounter, but the shot is down the middle of the goal and easy for the Poland keeper.

13': Aurelien Tchouameni gets in on the action with a long-range effort that has to be dealt with by Szczensy. This is a siege from France in the early going.

11': More French pressure. Mbappe picks out fellow winger Dembele, who sees his effort blocked. The resulting corner - already France's third of the game - is cleared. This could be a long afternoon for Poland.

9': Antoine Griezmann has been one of the most influential players of the tournament so far and he tries to pick a pass to a teammate, but it's cut out. Kylian Mbappe then gets a chance to show his pace for the first time and flashes a cross across the face of goal, only to see it go out for a corner. France already looking dangerous.

6': Poland put some early pressure on the French defence with a good press, but the reigning world champions just get out of it. From that, Matty Cash puts in a nice cross, which Hugo Lloris deals with. Interesting to see Poland press high against a very pacey team.

4': France's attacking threat is well documented and already they are moving very fluently. Poland with everyone behind the ball in open play, see Raphael Varane head wide from a corner. A strong start from the French.

2': Early opportunity for France after Antoine Griezmann is brought down. Szczensy will have to be on top form - as he has during the tournament - to give his side a chance today. Griezmann's delivery goes out for a goal kick.

1': And we are away at Al Thumama Stadium. France kick us off, Poland will be very wary of their incredible attacking talents.

Pre-match

15:53 CET: Here we go then, time for the second day of second round action. France and Poland are on the field and it's tme for the anthems.

15:44 CET: Poland have relied very heavily on Robert Lewandowski and Wojciech Szczesny to get them into the second round. Here is what France manager had to say before the game about their opposition.

"They have experienced players. Obviously Lewandowski is the stand-out player, one of the best strikers in the world," said coach Didier Deschamps. "We should not under estimate them."

14:53 CET: After wins for the Netherlands and Argentina yesterday, France will hope that having the favourites tag will prove a good omen for them as they go in search of a spot in the quarter-finals.

We will have live text commentary of the game right here, along with live and free audio commentary from 15:55 CET.

One player who they will need to perform alongside starters Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe will be Antoine Griezmann, who our friends at 11Hacks took a look at for us.

Check out the article now.

Team News

France: Hugo Lloris (c), Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez, Antoine Griezmann, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe.

Poland: Wojciech Szczesny, Matty Cash, Kamil Glik, Jakub Kiwior, Bartosz Bereszynski, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Piotr Zielinski, Robert Lewandowski (c), Jakub Kaminski, Sebastian Szymanski

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