The second day of the knockout stage of the World Cup brings us two more exciting games, with three European teams hoping to progress. Reigning champions France will look for a result against Poland, while England is set to face Senegal.
France vs Poland: 3-1
- In their most dominant display in Qatar, France routed Poland 3-1. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring thanks to an assist by Kylian Mbappe, who then scored a brace in the second half.
- Poland’s Robert Lewandowski managed a consolation goal through a penalty in the 99th minute of the match.
- Lewandowski’s last-minute strike means he scored a total of two goals at the World Cup, adding to his total of 77 goals for Poland. This is most likely his last World Cup final tournament appearance.
- After missing France’s 1-0 loss to Tunisia in the group stage, Mbappe, Giroud and Antoine Griezmann all came back to the team against Poland. All three played a key role in the match.
- Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris matched France’s record of 142 appearances held by Lilian Thuram, the right-back in the 1998 world champion team.
- Giroud’s goal means he has now scored an all-time high of 52 international goals for Les Bleus, one more than the previous record holder, Thierry Henry.
England vs Senegal (20 CET)
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The star-studded English team looking to bring the World Cup title home for the first time since 1966 has dominated its group, but now it faces its first major challenge in the all-or-nothing knockout round.
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The team plays Senegal on Sunday after topping Group B and tying Spain as the leading scorers in the tournament with nine goals.
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No other team picked up more than the seven points England recorded on its way to the knockout round, and it is only one of three still undefeated.
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The African Cup of Nations champions finished second in Group A behind the Netherlands, despite the pre-tournament disappointment of losing striker Sadio Mane because of an injury.
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There have been several surprises involving African teams at this tournament, as Cameroon beat Brazil while Tunisia defeated France in the group stage.
