Kylian Mbappe crowned an exhilarating individual performance with two second-half goals to make champions France the first side into the last 16 of the World Cup as they beat Denmark 2-1 in their Group D clash at the 974 Stadium on Saturday.
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.
In a post-game TV interview, French coach Didier Deschamps remarked of their qualification, ‘The first objective has been achieved.’ This team is robust and strong, and it has lofty goals.
On Wednesday, France will play Tunisia, and Denmark will play the Socceroos. The Danes must win to advance.
France got off to a cautious start after suffering two losses to Denmark during the most recent Nations League campaign. But they quickly realised there were advantages to be had by competing with the Danish wing backs.
Every time Mbappe went one-on-one with Rasmus Kristensen on the other wing, Ousmane Dembele tortured Joakim Maehle, and a surge of enthusiasm flowed through the stadium, which is constructed out of 974 recycled shipping containers.
While Denmark was pushed into many last-ditch stops in the first half, France had the better opportunities thanks to Adrien Rabiot’s close header and the Danes’ Andreas Cornelius shot that just missed the target.
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