France, England breeze through round of 16 to set up big quarterfinal clash

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Published: 05 Dec. 2022, 16:25

France, England breeze through round of 16 to set up big quarterfinal clash

Oliver Giroud, left, celebrates with Kylian Mbappe during a round of 16 match between France and Poland at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Sunday. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

France and England both booked a spot in the quarterfinals at the 2022 Qatar World Cup on Sunday night, setting up what is likely to be a highly charged Anglo-French derby in the next round and leaving just four more teams to advance.

Neither France nor England struggled to brush past their opponents in the round of 16, with the French reigning champions beating Poland 3-1 and England sweeping past Senegal, 3-0.

Kylian Mbappe scored a brace to push France past Poland, with Olivier Giroud opening the scoring with his 52nd international goal to move past Thierry Henry as the great French goal scorer of all time.

Olivier Giroud of France celebrates his goal during a round of 16 match between France and Poland at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Sunday. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

It was a surprisingly quiet first half, with Giroud finally opening the scoring in the 44th minute with a tidy shot after picking up a clinical through ball from Mbappe.

Mbappe stepped up in the second half after seeming to struggle a bit at points in the first, raining in goals number two and three in the 74th minute and injury time.

Mbappe’s first goal arrived with France operating like the well-oiled machine they can be under full steam, Giroud feeding Ousmane Dembélé, who ran inside before slotting the ball through to Mbappe. By that point the goal seemed so inevitable that the shot was inconsequential and Mbappe did not disappoint, smashing the ball past Wojciech Szczesny to take the score to 2-0.

Mbappe’s second goal, a minute into injury time, seemed at first glance to be physically impossible. The Paris Saint-Germain juggernaut picked up a pass from Marcus Thuram at what must have been at least a 45-degree angle on goal, managed to get his boot around the ball passing slightly behind him and still fired it into the top left corner.

The goal was the final nail in the coffin for Poland, although Robert Lewandowski managed to get one back with a penalty at the end of injury time. The loss sends Poland home, and likely marks the end of the 34-year-old Barcelona striker’s World Cup career.

France's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gestures during a round of 16 match between France and Poland at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

There was certainly a passing of the baton feel to Sunday’s game, with three huge veterans in the form of Lewandowski, Giroud and Hugo Lloris putting in impressive performances, even as Mbappe steps up to take over at the helm of the French squad.

At 35 years old, Lloris is expected to become France’s most-capped player of all time next weekend, when he will break Lilian Thuram’s record of 142 appearances. Thirty-six-year-old Giroud still has at least one more chance to add to his 52-goal tally and he should enjoy that time at the top while he can — 23-year-old Mbappe is already at 33 goals.

A few hours after France swept aside Poland, England put on their own tour de force with a dominant 3-0 win over Senegal, overcoming some surprising early jitters to show exactly why the perennial World Cup dropouts could be a contender this year.

Harry Kane of England celebrates his goal during a round of 16 match between England and Senegal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar on Sunday. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

Senegal came out the gates with a very clear plan to put England on the back foot by pushing an aggressive offensive from the whistle, the same method that helped Korea beat Portugal two days earlier and Saudi Arabia trump Argentina in the early days of the tournament.

But while that allowed Senegal to control the pace of the game for the opening 15 minutes or so, England stayed calm and collected in the face of the attack and quickly adapted to seize any opportunities that came their way.

By the start of the second half it was the England show, with the Three Lions combining some brilliant turns of speed with the uncharacteristically slick operation first seen when they beat Iran 6-2 in the opening game.

Jordan Henderson scored the opener for England in the 38th minute, with 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner Harry Kane finally breaking his own tournament donut with goal No. 2. The formidable 21-year-old Bukayo Saka picked up his third goal of the tournament to make it 3-0, rounding off a solid performance from what proved to be a very reliable starting XI.

All three of those goals came from well-executed plays built in the midfield. Jude Bellingham, who was a force to be reckoned with throughout the match, was responsible for goal No. 1, picking up the ball from Kane and sprinting down the pitch, drawing away the defense before cutting the ball back to Henderson to fire past Édouard Mendy.

Jordan Henderson, right, celebrates scoring his team's first goal with midfielder Jude Bellingham during a round of 16 match between England and Senegal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar on Sunday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Bellingham started the next one as well, setting off an England counterattack and driving the ball up the middle before picking out Phil Foden, who hit a first-touch pass straight into the path of Kane. The England captain didn’t blink, firing the bobbling ball past Mendy to take the score to 2-0.

Goal No. 3 was really the Phil Foden show. The Manchester City midfielder picked up a loose ball after Kane was tackled near the halfway line, reading the play so that he arrived at full speed as the tackle happened. He drove the ball rapidly up the pitch, beating a defender before firing across the goal face for Saka to tap home.

With the win, England have now won three of four games by at least a three-goal margin and have finished the last three games with a clean sheet. All encouraging signs for the Three Lions, but a record that will be seriously tested when they take on France next Saturday.

Bukayo Saka celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a round of 16 match between England and Senegal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

The title holders enter the game as the favorites, and if England start on the back foot like they did against Senegal it’s highly likely that Mbappe and Giroud won’t hesitate to make them pay. If, however, the England that emerged from the 30th minute onwards make an appearance early next week, it could still be anybody’s game.

As of press time, France, England, Argentina and the Netherlands have all earned their spot in the quarterfinals. Later Monday, Japan are set to face off against Croatia and Korea face a fight for their lives against Brazil.

If both Japan and Korea manage to take unlikely wins, it will set up the extremely rare World Cup Asian derby.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]

korea joongAng daily

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France, England breeze through round of 16 to set up big quarterfinal clash

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