France and England made it to the quarterfinals World Cup in Qatar with a series of goals to help them end the round of Poland and Senegal convincingly.
The big names of both winners were in top scoring form on Sunday: France’s Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud scored 3-1 to beat Poland, while Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane and England’s Bukayo Saka scored three goals for their team. beat Senegal 3-0.
France and England currently gearing up for the quarter-finals of the World Cup that will see the two giants of European football meet on Saturday, December 10, at Qatar’s Al Khor stadium.
Here’s a rundown of all you need to know from the 15th — Sunday, 4 December — of World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
France vs Poland
New football records was set for Sunday night at the World Cup as France advanced to the quarter-finals by beating Poland 3-1 at Al Thumama Stadium.
Olivier Giroud scored the opening goal of the match Not only did it put his team on a winning path, it also elevated him to France’s all-time top scorer after he scored a total of 52 goals for the French national team. His goal against Poland in the 44th minute — just a minute after half-time — took Giroud’s total to surpass the record of 51 held by France’s Thierry Henry.
Giroud’s goals could have increased by one more after his shot went back into the net in the 57th minute, but that was not allowed as the game was stopped due to a collision between the goalkeeper Ba Lan Wojciech Szczesny and Raphael Varane of France.
Kylian Mbappewho scored two other goals in Sunday night’s game, also set the record by beating by Pele a total of seven World Cup goals before the age of 24. 23-year-old Mbappe now has 33 goals in 63 appearances since making his debut for France in 2017.
Mbappe scored his first goal in the 74th minute and added a second when he shot into the top corner in stoppage time.
Poland also scored in injury time from Robert Lewandowski’s penalty, but it was too late to come back.
France coach Didier Deschamps said after the game: “France needed a great Kylian Mbappe tonight and they got it.”
Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz had words of comfort for his team.
“We did our homework and made it through the group stage. We haven’t managed that in 36 years. But then, unfortunately, we met the world champion,” he said.
France will now meet England, who took a 3-0 lead against Senegal later on Sunday.
England have won both of their previous encounters with France at the World Cup: 2-0 in 1966 and 3-1 in 1982.
England vs Senegal
England beat the defending champion of Africa Senegal on Sunday night with goals scored by Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka to win 3-0.
Henderson’s opener came in the 38th minute and was added by Kane – his first in the tournament – just before the half-time whistle blew. Saka scored three goals for England in the 65th minute.
Although England’s win looked comfortable, Senegal posed a threat in the first half as Ismaila Sarr beat the England keeper but then sent the ball over the bar. Sarr also assisted in Senegal’s first goal as he passed the ball to team-mate Boulaye Dia, whose shot forced the England keeper to save with his left hand.
England’s performance in the second half was commanding for a team chasing a World Cup dream to add to their 1966 championship win. Notable is the absence of England striker Raheem Sterling, who was unavailable for selection on Sunday because of what was reported to be a family matter.
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse then spoke about his team’s defensive flaws and how African football will continue to grow.
“Our strength has always been the defence, we don’t concede very often and certainly not three goals in a game. It was a surprise for me because defense is usually where we can make the difference,” he said.
“After the first goal, it was difficult for us and then we conceded the second right before half-time. Third is key, he said.
Cisse said football in Africa is “always improving”.
“You cannot win the World Cup overnight. We see that the African infrastructure is improving and the federations are training coaches. We need more technical director, improved arbitration, but our countries are working on these improvements. It cannot be done overnight,” he said.
“Mistakes have happened in the past but Africa now has the right policies. We can’t stop now if we want to win this tournament one day.”
