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Kylian Mbappe was in another league yet again, oozing class throughout, while the ever-reliable Olivier Giroud netted a record goal to send defending champions France into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory over Poland on Sunday.
Les Bleus, who now face either Senegal or England for a spot in the last four, scored on the stroke of halftime as Giroud became their all-time record scorer with 52 goals before Mbappe’s late screamers sealed Poland’s fate and put the 23-year-old alone at the top of the scoring chart with five goals and two assists.
Poland, in the knockout stage for the first time since 1986 and looking for a first quarter-final appearance since 1982, had a huge chance in the first half but the France midfield did a great job of cutting the feeding line to Robert Lewandowski, who reduced the arrears with a twice-taken, last-second penalty.
Keeper Hugo Lloris made his 142nd appearance and is now tied with Lilian Thuram as France’s most-capped player, and his experience mattered when he made a superb quick save to deny Piotr Zielinski.
Coach Didier Deschamps had warned that there was more to Poland than Lewandowski and he was proved right at the Al Thumama stadium as the French were at times shaky at the back.
