Reigning champions France take on Poland in their FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 clash at the Al-Thumama Stadium on Sunday, December 4. Both teams are coming off defeats in their final group stage fixtures and will be keen to hit the ground running as they enter the knockout stage of the tournament where teams cannot afford any slip-ups.
Didier Deschamps won’t be too bothered about France’s defeat to Tunisia having made nine changes to the starting XI from the team that beat Denmark in their previous match. France finished on top of Group D after starting their campaign with back-to-back wins.
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Les Bleus made a blistering start to their campaign in Qatar as they responded to going 1-0 down against Australia with four goals of their own to seal a 4-1 victory. Olivier Giroud netted a brace in that game to equal Thierry Henry’s all-time record of 51 goals for France.
France then put in a clinical performance against Denmark in their next outing as a brace from Kylian Mbappe fired them to a 2-1 victory. That win saw France break the World Cup champions' curse, becoming the first defending champions to make it out of the group stage since Brazil in 2006.
With qualification secured, Deschamps rotated his squad for their final group stage game which they lost 1-0 to Tunisia. However, the head coach won’t be too bothered about that loss as he’ll welcome back his attacking trident of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud for the clash against Poland.
Poland meanwhile secured their last 16 berth courtesy a better goal difference after finishing level on points on points with Mexico in Group C.
Czeslaw Michniewicz's men began their campaign with a goalless draw against Mexico before securing a 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia. Robert Lewandowski finally broke his World Cup duck in that win as Poland’s record goalscorer scored his first goal at the World Cup finals.
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Poland then suffered a 2-0 defeat to Argentina in their final group game, breaking their run of four clean sheets on the bounce. However, Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved a penalty from Lionel Messi in that game, his second of the tournament.
Szczesny has been in excellent form for Poland between the posts and will have to bring his A-game as his team look to upset formidable France who seem eager to hold on to the World Cup trophy.
France vs Poland Team News:
Theo Hernandez seemed to pick up an ankle injury during a training session on Friday but is likely to start against Poland. Apart from that, France do not have any fresh injury concerns in their squad. Poland too will have a full fit squad available for selections.
France vs Poland Head to Head Record:
Matches Played: 16
France Wins: 8
Poland Wins: 3
Draws: 5
France vs Poland Form Guide: (Last five matches)
France: W-L-W-W-L
Poland: W-W-D-W-L
France vs Poland Predicted Starting XIs:
France Possible Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Lloris, Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud
Poland Possible Starting XI (4-4-2): Szczesny, Cash, Glik, Kiwior, Bereszynski, Frankowski, Bielik, Krychowiak, Zielinski, Lewandowski, Milik
Betting odds (bet365)
France win: 1.30
Draw: 5.25
Poland win: 11.00
France vs Poland Prediction: Poland have struggled to pose much of an attacking threat in this tournament having managed to post just five shots on target so far. The French team should be able to clinch a 2-0 victory in this game.
Where to watch and kick-off timing: The match will kick off at 8:30 PM IST on Sunday, December 5 and will be beamed live on Sports18 and Sports18 HD. Fans can also stream the action online on JioCinema’s official website and Jio Cinema app.
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