One of Sunday's round of 16 matchups at the 2022 World Cup has France taking on Poland at Al-Thumama Stadium. Les Bleus finished first in Group D, while Poland came in second in Group C, although both sides suffered defeats on the final matchday of the Group Stage.
France, the current World Cup holders, avoided elimination and therefore ended the tournament's infamous 'curse' by advancing to the tournament's knockout round. The last four World Cup champions coming from Europe all failed to advance out of the group stage in their subsequent tournament, so Didier Deschamps' 2022 side would have been relieved to put a stop to that trend.
Poland, however, had only five shots on target and barely advanced to the last 16. They will need to improve on their defeat to Argentina if they want to go all the way. Much attention will be paid to two of the top attackers in the world: France's Kylian Mbappe and Poland's 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.
