France will continue their quest for successive World Cup crowns when they take on Poland in the last-16 stage of the 2022 competition on Sunday afternoon.
Didier Deschamps's side were on the end of a 1-0 loss to Tunisia in their final Group D contest on Wednesday, but they still managed to top the group on six points courtesy of wins over Australia and Denmark.
The reigning world champions will now be bidding to advance to the final eight of the competition, as they prepare to take on a Poland side that finished second in Group C behind Argentina.
Here, Sports Mole looks at some of the reasons for France to be confident of navigating their way into the final eight of the 2022 competition.
Kylian Mbappe form
There are a lot of aspects that make up a World-Cup winning side, but more often than not, there is one outstanding player that carries a team to glory. Kylian Mbappe is bidding to be that player in the 2022 competition, with the Paris Saint-Germain attacker in excellent form at the competition.
Mbappe actually scored four goals and registered one assist in France's 2018 success, while he has three goals and one assist in three fixtures at this year's competition.
The 23-year-old was particularly impressive against Denmark, netting a brace, while he was only used for the final 27 minutes against Tunisia, as Deschamps made wholesale changes, with the side already through to the next round ahead of their last match.
Mbappe has incredibly had nine more shots (16) than any other France player at the competition, with seven of those on target. What's more, he netted twice against Argentina in the round of 16 four years ago, so he knows what it takes to find the back of the net at this stage of a major international tournament.
France's last-16 record at the World Cup
France have featured at the last-16 stage of a World Cup on five occasions since the round was introduced in 1986, and they have been victorious in all five ties, which came in 1986, 1998, 2006, 2014 and 2018.
Poland, on the other hand, are in the first knockout round of the tournament for the first time since 1986, when they were on the end of a 4-0 loss to Brazil.
The last reigning champion to be eliminated in the last-16 stage of a World Cup was Italy back in 1986, which is another indicator pointing to a victory for the Blues on Sunday afternoon.
Poland, meanwhile, have only recorded five shots on target in their opening three matches at the 2022 competition, with three of those coming from Robert Lewandowski.
The Barcelona forward is likely to be the main danger for France, who will fancy their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals if they can keep the 34-year-old quiet.
Overall record against Poland
France have enjoyed the better of their meetings with Poland throughout history, recording eight wins from their 16 matches in all competitions, suffering just three defeats in the process.
The Blues posted a 1-0 victory when they last faced their fellow European nation in 2011, while they are unbeaten in their last seven games against them across all competitions.
France have actually kept clean sheets in four of their last five matches against Poland, while they are unbeaten against Sunday's opponents since a friendly in 1982.
There have not been many goals in their recent clashes, though, with France's last two victories involving just one goal, suggesting that a low-scoring success for the Blues could be on the cards in this contest.
Poland have also only scored once against France since August 1991, while they have managed just two goals against the Blues since the early 1980s.
Read more on France vs Poland
- Click here to read our full preview for France vs Poland
- How France could line up against Poland
- How Poland could line up against France
- World Cup 2022: France vs. Poland head-to-head record
- France vs. Poland: Why to expect a victory for the world champions on Sunday
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