France defeated Denmark 2-1 in Group D to become the first team to reach the 2022 World Cup knockout rounds.
The champions went ahead thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s 30th goal for his country before Andreas Christensen tied the score for Denmark. However, the Psg star doubled his total in the closing seconds to guarantee a spot in the round of 16.
In the opening exchanges, France was not afraid to stay back and watch as Kasper Hjulmand’s team struggled to make the majority of their possession opportunities count.
The Danes held their breath in the 20th minute as Kylian Mbappe raced through on goal and was brought down by Andreas Christensen of Barcelona. However, other defenders were covering, and only a yellow card was issued.
Out wide, Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele attempted to create the most havoc. In the 21st minute, the latter whipped in a tempting ball that Adrien Rabiot attempted to head toward goal, but Kasper Schmeichel made a fine save to his right.
Jules Koundes’ goal-bound attempt was successfully blocked by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the 30th minute as France began to exert more pressure. However, six minutes later, following a quick break, Andreas Cornelius shot wide of Hugo Lloris’ near post, giving France a scare.
Five minutes before halftime, Mbappe should have taken the lead after Dembele found him unmarked in the box, but the 23-year-old leaned back and misfired.
Despite creating Denmark’s best opportunity of the first half, Cornelius was substituted at halftime in favour of Martin Braithwaite in an effort to reinvigorate the Scandinavians’ attack. Cornelius had received a booking.
The much-needed attacking cunning, however, came from Mbappe rather than Braithwaite, who spun away from Andersen near the halfway point and raced for the goal before having his shot deflected by Schmeichel.
Antoine Griezmann’s over-the-top shot at the hour mark cost France once more, but Les Bleus would make up for those errors just one minute later.
Theo Hernandez and Mbappe engaged in some deft link-up play on the left side that resulted in the AC Milan defender cutting the ball back for the latter. His close-range first-time effort took a slight nick off Christensen and found the back of the net for his 30th goal for France.
The champions’ lead, however, only lasted seven minutes as Christensen headed home into the roof of the net from a Christian Eriksen corner after Joachim Andersen flicked it on. In the 73rd minute, Jesper Lindstrom’s close-range effort forced Lloris to make a respectable save, but Hjulmand’s team was counting their blessings when Joakim Maehle stopped Aurelien Tchouameni’s goal-bound header.
The chances continued to come thick and fast for both teams after Rabiot’s well-placed acrobatic effort in the 79th minute went just over the top at the far post. Braithwaite then narrowly missed a close-range opportunity one minute later.
Mbappe appeared to score the goal to secure France’s spot in the round of 16 in the 86th minute, getting in front of Kristensen at the back post to meet Griezmann’s cross and deflecting the ball into the goal off of his thigh.
France defeated Denmark 2-1 to advance to the FIFA World Cup’s round of 16, thanks to a pair of goals from Kylian Mbappe. To have a chance of moving on, Cristian Eriksen and company must defeat Australia in their final Group D match.
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