World Cup round of 16: France vs. Poland prediction, preview and team news
By qualifying for the World Cup knockout stage, holders France managed to break the dreaded “curse of the champions”. The past four European World Cup winners all failed to qualify from the group stage in their next tournament – France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014, and Germany in 2018 – and Didier Deschamps’s 2022 squad will have been glad to end that run.
In the opening stage at this year’s tournament Les Bleus qualified as group D winners, but they did lose their final match, 1-0 against Tunisia. Now facing Poland in the last 16, head coach Deschamps has warned his side to be wary of becoming the next big name to exit early from Qatar, after Germany, Belgium and Uruguay all crashed out at the group stage.
“Will there be other surprises?” said Deschamps. “I only believe what I see. Today, even a great nation, if she is not ready, can have unpleasant situations. All the games are difficult. All the teams are good and prepared. The players all play in good leagues.”
Poland, who finished second in group C, “defend well” and have a “hardcore of players” with good experience, the French boss added. “You have to respect what this team does, they deserve to be there.”
Lewandowski: Poland will ‘give our all’
Much of the focus for Sunday’s last-16 tie at the Al Thumama Stadium will be on two of the world’s best strikers – Kylian Mbappé of France and Robert Lewandowski of Poland.
Having starred in France’s 2018 World Cup win in Russia, 23-year-old Mbappé has been in fine form again in Qatar, with three goals in the group stage. At the age of 34, Lewandowski is not just Poland’s main attacking threat, but also his country’s captain. He scored his first ever World Cup goal in the 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
After squeezing through the group stage, reaching the round of 16 is a “great achievement” for Poland, Lewandowski told ZDF. He knows that it will be “difficult” against the holders and his team-mates will need to “remain focused”. But if the Polish players “give our all”, they will “definitely have a chance”, he added.
Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/football/958734/world-cup-round-of-16-france-vs-poland-prediction-preview