On Sunday, the Al-Thumama Stadium will host another match of the Round of 16 of the World Cup 2022, featuring France and Poland. Here, check out what would happen if Les Bleus triumph in this matchup.
In one of Sunday’s 16 matches at the 2022 World Cup, France will face Poland at the Al-Thumama Stadium. Les Bleus finished first in Group D, while Poland finished second in Group C, although both sides suffered defeats in their final group stage match.
Reigning World Cup holders France avoided elimination, thus ending the tournament’s infamous “curse” by progressing to the knockout rounds of the tournament. The last four European-based World Cup champions have failed to advance from the group stage at their next tournament, so Didier Deschamps’ 2022 side would be relieved to see that trend halted.
However, Poland had just five shots on target and barely progressed to the last 16. They will need to improve on their defeat to Argentina if they are to go all the way. A lot of attention will be paid to two of the best strikers in the world: French Kylian Mbappe and Polish Robert Lewandowski.
What would happen if France beat Poland in the Qatar 2022 Round of 16?
In the event of a victory against Poland, France would progress to the tournament’s Quarter-Finals for the second consecutive time since the 2018 edition. There, they would then play the winner of the England vs Senegal encounter. Following their Group B-winning performance against Wales, Gareth Southgate’s squad ascended to the top spot. Furthermore, Kalidou Koulibaly’s volley in the last Group A match eliminated Ecuador and put Senegal in the World Cup Knockout Round as runners-up.
If Kylian Mbappe and co. can beat the White-Reds on Sunday, December 4, they will have until Saturday, December 10 to prepare for their next encounter. Since there will be a five-day break between games, Didier Deschamps will have enough time to prepare for either one of the two possible opponents.
When France last competed in a World Cup Quarter-Final match, in 2018, they advanced all the way to the final and ultimately won the tournament in Russia by beating Croatia. Meanwhile, the last time Les Blues were stopped in the Round of 16 was back in 1934, when they lost to Austria 3-2 after extra time.
