The Round of 16 knockouts continued in Qatar as the FIFA World Cup entered its 15th day. The Les Bleus France were pitted against the defensive Poland and the flamboyant English were drawn against the Teranga Lions Senegal. With landmarks and history at stake, the night unfolded with some spectacular football.
France vs Poland ( 3-1 )
France squared with Poland at the Al-Thumama stadium ( featured image ). The Les Bleus began positively and tried to establish their ascendancy, but the Poles quickly settled in and began to grow in the match. They made some lovely moves and suddenly the French were under pressure. Had it not been for some brave defending by Hugo Lloris and co, the Poles would have been ahead. But the French responded with a quick move in the 44th minute, with the ace marksman Oliver Giroud finishing it with a super strike. The French were ahead and a piece of history was made. Oliver Giroud became the all time highest goal scorer for France in International matches. A terrific achievement indeed. It was Giroud’s 52nd goal for France, going past Thierry Henry.
Mbappe and Giroud do it for France
With the defences pierced, Poland tried not to lose rather than to win, while the French carried on in search of another goal. It was the mercurial Kylian Mbappe who came up with a power strike in the 74th minute and again in stoppage time. France were ahead by 3 goals and had sealed the match. The power behind his shots with the minimum of fuss and the quicksilver feet, make Mbappe very special. Szczesny, having a great tournament was completely beaten by the power and direction of Mbappes strike. Lewandowski converted a Penalty in the last second of the match to get a consolation goal. The Poles were well and truly outplayed by the defending champions. Lewandowski unfortunately just could not light up the world stage and exited from the World Cup, which could well be his last.
England vs Senegal ( 3-0 )
The Al-Bayt Stadium played host to England and Senegal. The African Champions were expected to give a tough time to the 3 Lions and a close game was on the cards. However what actually materialised was a thumping win for an impressive England. The Teranga Lions just didn’t show up.
England are blessed with one of their finest squads ever. The bench strength is as strong as the starting line up, which makes them a real force. The team too is gelling beautifully and appear to be in very fine rhythm which was on display when England went 2-0 ahead in the First Half through some precise finishing by Jordan Henderson and captain Harry Kane. A third too was added shortly after the break when Bukayo Saka tapped in an easy ball past Edouard Mendy.
Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka Celebrate
Jude Bellingham, playing in the midfield alongside Declan Rice in the centre, created two of the goals and the youngster who plays in Germany with Borussia Dortmund, has been the player for England this World Cup. England were ahead 3-0 and Senegal just capitulated. Though they did show some semblance of a fight here and there, they were truly outplayed by a much better opposition. The African Champions head home, while England have booked a Quarter Final berth with France. A mighty contest in the offing.
The matches on Day 15 unfolded as expected as two more teams bid goodbye to their campaign. An engrossing Day 16 beckons the lovers of football worldwide and particularly the Asian community would be praying for the rub of the green as Japan face off against Croatia and South Korea take on the mighty Brazil. Keep visiting rizkhan.in for all the latest updates and reviews on the FIFA World Cup.
Read QUICK, Read BETTER @ rizkhan.in
