France became the first team to qualify for the round of 16 of the World Cup by beating an energetic team from Denmark 2-1. Kylian Mbappe scored both goals for the defending champions at the 974 Stadium on Saturday night.
Les Blues barely dominated against their European counterparts, but they are peaking at the right time despite recent injury setbacks that have left Karim Benzema, Cristopher Nkunku and Lucas Hernández all ruled out of the tournament.
Mbappe gave France the lead on the hour when Theo Hernandez made a quick run into the Danish half and provided a one-two for the PSG sensation whose deflected effort beat Kasper Schmeichel.
The Danes restored equality seven minutes later when Andreas Christensen headed past Hugo Lloris from a Christian Eriksen corner.
France, however, had the last laugh when Mbappé scored a delightful Antoine Griezman cross from the right wing from just two yards away.
Didier Deschamps’s side are on pace to top the group when they take on Tunisia in their last game. However, Denmark must beat Australia to qualify for the round of 16.
Australia beat Tunisia
The Socceroos previously beat Tunisia 1-0 when Mitchell Duke scored the only goal of the match after 23 minutes.
Australia are currently in second place in Group D and even a draw against the Danes would see them qualify for the round of 16 of the competition.
Poland beat Saudi Arabia
Elsewhere in Group C, Poland beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 as Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski finally broke his World Cup drought.
The Saudis came into the match after upsetting Argentina in their opening group match and will be disappointed with nothing to show for their valiant effort.
Piotr Zelinski gave the Poles the lead on 39 minutes, while Lewandowski made the most of a defensive calamity from the Saudi back line and kept his clam on the scoreboard to give his team an important three points.
The Saudis were guilty of missing a penalty kick when Salem Al Dawsari, who scored the winner against Argentina, failed to beat Wojciech Szczesny for the Polish goal.
The Juventus goalkeeper dove to the right to save the penalty and also got up to prevent the follow-on. The European side hit the post twice through Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik before the former calmed their nerves in the 82nd minute to give his side victory.
Photo Credit: IMAGO/PA Images
World Cup 2022 Guide
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