Key events
“If it’s anything like the last game, surely Poland’s formation should be 9-0-1? said Kevin Ryan. “ADD”.
Well yeah. A 5-2-2-1 formation is not without euphemistic potential.
Ten minutes to start
Let’s recap the teams.
France (4-2-3-1) Loris; Koundé, Varane, Upamecano, T Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud.
Replacements: Mandanda, Areola, Pavard, Disasi, Guendouzi, Kolo Muani, Fofana, Veretout, Saliba, Coman, Konate, Camavinga, Thuram.
Poland (possible 5-2-2-1) Szczesny; Cash, Bereszynski, Kiwior, Glik, Frankowski; S Szymanski, Krychowiak; Zielinski, Kaminski; Lewandowski.
Replacements: Skorupski, Grabara, Jedrzejczyk, Wieteska, Bednarek, Bielik, Milik, D Szymanski, Grosicki, Swiderski, Zurkowski, Zalewski, Piatek, Gumny, Skoras.
Arbitrator Jesus Valenzuela Saez (Venezuela)
Olivier Giroud could go down in history today. He has 51 goals for France, the same as Thierry Henry, and needs one to become France’s all-time top scorer. Not bad for a player who has been lightly patronized throughout his career.
The BBC has the formation of Poland in 4-1-4-1, as below, rather than 5-2-2-1. Time will tell at this point.
Poland Szczesny; Cash, Kiwior, Glik, Bereszynski; Krychowiak; Kaminski, Zielinski, S Szymanski, Frankowski; Lewandowski.
“This Brazil-Poland comeback video – we need a broadcaster to ‘reboot’ the spinning screens and the big flashing yellow R that indicates a replay,” says Pat. “So the 80s. So good. See it in full glory at 5:30 in the video.
Give it to Messi
“France,” says Jeff Sachs, “are Brazil’s only serious challenger.”
They could also meet in the final. I still think Spain, England, Portugal or Argentina could win, in that order, although France and Brazil seem the most likely.
This is Poland’s first World Cup knockout game since 1986. when they scared off Brazil before ultimately losing 4-0. Their spirit was shattered early in the second half when Josimar scored another monstrous goal to make it 2-0.
All the best shocks happen when you (think) you know the outcome in advance
Moan against last bang
Team update: Nine changes for France
Didier Deschamps makes nine changes from the Tunisian game, returning to the XI that beat Denmark eight days ago. Raphaël Varane and Aurélien Tchouameni are the only starting men on Wednesday.
Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz is making two changes from the team that lost to Argentina. Sebastian Szymanski and Jakub Kaminski replace Krystian Bielik and Karol Swiderski, which could mean a move to five backs.
France (4-2-3-1) Loris; Koundé, Varane, Upamecano, T Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud.
Replacements: Mandanda, Areola, Pavard, Disasi, Guendouzi, Kolo Muani, Fofana, Veretout, Saliba, Coman, Konate, Camavinga, Thuram.
Poland (possible 5-2-2-1) Szczesny; Cash, Bereszynski, Kiwior, Glik, Frankowski; S Szymanski, Krychowiak; Zielinski, Kaminski; Lewandowski.
Replacements: Skorupski, Grabara, Jedrzejczyk, Wieteska, Bednarek, Bielik, Milik, D Szymanski, Grosicki, Swiderski, Zurkowski, Zalewski, Piatek, Gumny, Skoras.
Arbitrator Jesus Valenzuela Saez (Venezuela)
Hugo Lloris starts today against Poland and becomes the most capped player in the history of French football with 142 selections, tied with Lilian Thuram. What an incredible achievement!
—Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) December 4, 2022
I see that Amélie Poulain has done something stupid again
Preamble
The best way to achieve greatness is to hold something back. Ok, no anything. No one put Modena in the pantheon when they won the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1981 and 1982. But now the World Cup is the ultimate. It has only been retained twice, by Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962, and no team has even come close since the turn of the century.
Winning the World Cup twice in a row does not tolerate a solitary, sensible argument, and that is what France hope to achieve over the next fortnight. Qualification for the round of 16 is a big beginning. Incredibly, and for once I’m not overusing this word, four of the five previous defending champions have come out of the group stages, including France in 2002. No need to try to understand; just drop it under F, BH.
Even without half a dozen of their best players, France, and in particular Kylian Mbappe, looked ominous as they beat Australia and Denmark. Their reserve team lost to Tunisia on Wednesday, although there is heartwarming precedent for that. At Euro 2000, the France B team lost the third group match against the Netherlands; Team A won the tournament.
France’s path to glory in Qatar was made more difficult by Spain’s loss to Japan earlier this week. They may now have to beat England, Spain and Argentina or Brazil to lift the trophy. But first, Des, they have to take care of Poland. This part seems simple, although we said the same thing before losing to Switzerland at the same stage of Euro 2020.
Still, Poland look ripe for gutting after qualifying for the last 16 with their tails between their legs. It’s like they lost today’s game on Wednesday night. They were heavily criticized for their passive and pragmatic defeat against Argentina, and things like that can devastate morale. Who knew good behavior could be so bad?
To start up 3 p.m. GMT, 6 p.m. at Al Thumama, 4 p.m. in Paris and Warsaw. The winners will play England or Senegal in the final quarter-final on Saturday night.
