Mercurial Mbappe fires France into last 16 after 2-1 win over Denmark

Mbappe’s goals sent France top the group on six points, three ahead of Australia, who beat Tunisia 1-0 earlier in the day, with the Danes and the Tunisians both on one point.

“The first objective has been achieved,” French coach Didier Deschamps said of their qualification in a post-match TV interview. “This group is strong, solid and wants to achieve great things.”

France take on Tunisia and Denmark meet Socceroos in the final round on Wednesday, with the Danes needing a win to advance.

Having lost twice to Denmark during the recent Nations League campaign, France started cautiously. But it was not long before they realised there were opportunities to be had by taking on the Danish wing backs.

Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Group D – France v Denmark – Stadium 974, Doha, Qatar – November 26, 2022 France players celebrate after the match. Photo: Reuters

Ousmane Dembele tormented Joakim Maehle and a wave of excitement swept around the stadium, which is made out of 974 recycled shipping containers, every time Mbappe got one-on-one with Rasmus Kristensen on the other flank.

The first half saw France enjoy the better chances as Adrien Rabiot went close with a header and Denmark were forced into a number of last-ditch blocks, but the Danes did go close with an Andreas Cornelius shot that flew just wide.

Their defensive resilience was not to last and Mbappe put the French ahead in the 61st minute, crowning a superb high-speed French counter with a bouncing first-time finish from Theo Hernandez’s clever pull-back.

Always a danger from set pieces, defender Andreas Christensen put the Danes level seven minutes later, stealing in behind the defence and stooping to head home with Denmark’s first effort on target.

Neither side seemed content with a draw and Rabiot fired a spectacular volley over in the 80th minute, and a minute later Denmark substitute Martin Braithwaite fired a first-time effort of his own just wide of the near post.

The game looked set to end in a stalemate until Mbappe popped up in the 86th minute at the far post to cushion home an Antoine Griezmann cross from close range to restore the lead to send the travelling French fans into raptures.

Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Group D – France v Denmark – Stadium 974, Doha, Qatar – November 26, 2022 France’s Kylian Mbappe and teammates celebrate after the match. Photo: Reuters

Denmark threw everything forward looking for a second equaliser, leaving acres of space at the back, but their late attacks lacked precision and the French held on for the win that put them through.

“It was the small things again,” a frustrated Kasper Hjulmand told Denmark’s TV2. “We had hoped that we could close it out, it was like the game had gone a little bit cold, but it was simply small things.”

Mbappe’s brace took his international total to 31 in 61 games for France, putting the 23-year-old level with Zinedine Zidane and 20 goals behind Olivier Giroud and Thierry Henry, France’s joint record goal-scorers.

“What can I say, I’ve said it before – he’s an exceptional player. He has the ability to be decisive, to stand out from the crowd and make a difference in games,” Deschamps said of his goal-poaching star.

“We now have peace of mind going into our third game as we have already sealed our spot in the last 16, and we’re hopefully going to finish top of the table,” he added.

The French will face one of the teams from Group C – Poland, Saudi Arabia, Mexico or Argentina – in the last 16.

“We are very competitive and there is a great team spirit, both on and off the pitch, and we’ll need that for what is waiting ahead,” Deschamps said.

The post Mercurial Mbappe fires France into last 16 after 2-1 win over Denmark appeared first on Vietexplorer.com.

View more from VietExplorer:

‘Pho cuon’: An attractive variation of Pho
Google launches page to provide COVID-19 information in Vietnamese
Vietnam suspends flights to HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Unique Vietnamese lacquer paintings introduced to public
Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19
Church livestreams Easter service during social distancing
Peaceful Hoi An amid Covid-19 pandemic
HCM City: Can Gio district to host Nghinh Ong festival
Love duet singing festival kicks off in Bac Ninh
Hue Festival 2018 draws 1.2 million attendees
Vietnam calls on Vietnamese citizens abroad to refrain from travels
Publisher releases bilingual picture book
VND0 Happy Supermarket provides support to underprivileged people
Autistic children display paintings online
Ban – signature flower of Vietnam’s northwestern mountain region
Gliricidia sepium flowers glow in Da Nang
Roses in full bloom at Thang Long Imperial Citadel
Hundreds of citizens return home after 14-day medical isolation
Con Dao Island temporarily closed to tourists
Vietnamese in Russia make COVID-19 masks for locals