France became the first defending champions to pass the group stage, since Brazil in 2006. After passing the curse, coach Dider Descamps warned his students not to underestimate Poland, a team that has entered the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
As for the French team, they are confident having won all 5 matches in the most recent 1/8 World Cup. In the last 7 meetings, Les Blues are unbeaten against Poland. The last time France lost to Poland was a 0-4 friendly defeat in 1982.
The Polish team has experienced players. Obviously, if we mention a prominent name, it is Lewandowski, he is one of the best strikers in the world. But Poland doesn't just have him, they are a well-organized team, a great physical foundation. We have 3 assistants to monitor them and will review all the details about them. France will not underestimate Poland, said coach Deschamps.
The French team will rely heavily on their very strong attack. Olivier Giroud has scored 51 goals for the national team, equal to Henry. He needs another goal to break his senior's record. Kylian Mbappe has scored 31 goals for the French national team despite only being 23 years old. In the group stage, this duo scored 5 goals for the home team. They will be supported by Antoine Griezmann, who created 11 chances in the group stage, the most of any player in the knockout round.
For the Polish team, they will rely heavily on the talent of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who achieved a 90% save rate in the group stage. He made 19 saves, including 9 in the first half of the match against Argentina. This goalkeeper also impressed when he blocked 2 penalty kicks in 2 consecutive matches against Saudi Arabia and Argentina.
However, the attack is a concern for Poland as they have only had 5 shots on target in the group stage, 3 of which came in the match against Saudi Arabia. In the history of the World Cup, the Polish team has faced the defending champions twice and achieved good results. They beat Brazil 4-1 at the 1974 World Cup and held West Germany to a draw four years later.
The France - Poland match will take place at 22:00 on December 4.
