DOHA, Qatar — To be France is to lose the Ballon d’Or winner to an injury on the eve of the World Cup, and be "forced" to settle for a replacement who’s merely on the verge of becoming your all-time leading scorer.
To be France is to treat a round-of-16 game at the World Cup as a milestone rather than a destination. And to be France is, of course, to have the almost unfair privilege of unleashing the unstoppable Kylian Mbappé.
Les Bleus’ journey, or maybe it’s a stampede, toward a World Cup repeat passed through the Al Thumama Stadium here in southern Doha on Sunday evening, and then it flattened valiant but overmatched Poland. Olivier Giroud, the iconic, high-scoring replacement for the award-winning Karim Benzema, notched France’s opener and helped set up its spectacular second.
Then, on an evening when Giroud, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and playmaker Antoine Griezmann all reached individual milestones emblematic of sustained personal and collective excellence, Mbappé snatched the spotlight, and sealed France’s 3–1 triumph, with two more memorable strikes. If there was a group-stage MVP award, Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny would’ve had a strong case to win it. He stopped two penalty kicks, including one from Lionel Messi, and was tied for this tournament’s best save percentage in the first round. But he was little more than an awed spectator, like everyone else at Al Thumama, as Mbappé put his explosive, flamboyant and singular stamp on proceedings.
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“There’s no recipe. No coach knows the recipe to stop Mbappé in the form he’s in right now,” said Poland manager Czesław Michniewicz, who guided the Eagles to the second round for the first time in 36 years. “He’s a fantastic player and he harmed us today. But I root for him. I’m cheering for him because he’s a real star. I’m talking about Messi, Ronaldo, Lewandowski—someone is going to take over, and I think Mbappé will be the player who will be the best one for many years.”
At 23, the product of the Parisian suburbs that have become the planet’s greatest player development foundry is already accumulating accolades. With five goals here in Qatar, he’s now the second leading scorer (with nine) in France’s World Cup history—that’s a history that includes two titles, a runner-up finish and two bronze medals. And he’s the only player in tournament annals with nine career goals before turning 24.
“He can change a match in just a moment,” Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps said. “And he’s always playing with such joy and we all want to share these smiles with him. France needed a great Kylian Mbappé tonight, and they got one.”
Michael Kienzler/Ulmer/Teamfoto/Imago Images
France really is about more than Mbappé though, even if it’s impossible to take your eyes off him. He eventually may hold every record. But on Sunday, it was Giroud who etched his name into Les Bleus’ history, bouncing home a shot in the final moments of the first half (off a pass from Mbappé, naturally) to become the program’s all-time leading scorer. Somewhat infamous for failing to score during France’s run to the 2018 championship, Giroud's third of this tournament was also his 52nd in a national team shirt. Thierry Henry is now in second place with 51.
“Olivier has always been an important player, and four years ago he didn’t score but he was a very important player for us and … today we’re seeing his quality,” Deschamps said. “He was often criticized, but he’s managed to remain strong—mentally strong—and yes he’s broken the record. It’s a very difficult record to break."
As Deschamps spoke, Mbappé entered the press conference room at Al Thumama. The manager turned toward him and said, “And there’s another guy beside me who may break it one day.”
Mbappé is now in seventh place with 33, just 19 behind Giroud, who helped him pull close on an electrifying three-on-three break in the 74th minute. Griezmann, who set a French record Sunday with his 71st straight international appearance, started the play with a long, high clearance from the penalty area that Giroud deftly settled. The center forward then got the counter started, but unselfishly slipped the ball to the much faster and more skillful Ousmane Dembélé on the right. The Barcelona winger then cut inside, drawing the Polish defense toward him, before feeding Mbappé on the left. His finish to the upper left corner was thunderous.
Natacha Pisarenko/AP
Mbappé scored his second in stoppage time, rolling a pass from substitute Marcus Thruam under his foot, freezing three Polish defenders and then smashing a shot across the face of goal and into the upper right corner. Poland, who played without fear on Sunday and had several good chances of its own, deservedly avoided the shutout with a penalty from Robert Lewandowski on the final kick of the match.
“The Polish team were more attacking than we expected,” Deschamps acknowledged.
Lloris saved Lewandowski’s first attempt. The play would’ve been a fitting way for the team captain to celebrate his own milestone—tying legendary defender Lilian Thuram (Marcus’s father) with 142 France caps. But Lloris was judged to have left his goal line early, and Lewandowski converted the retake to give Poland a measure of tangible honor upon its World Cup exit. Lloris, meanwhile, will break Thuram’s record in Saturday’s quarterfinal against England.
Michniewicz said here that Poland had achieved its objective by getting out of a difficult group which included Argentina and Mexico.
“The more time passes, I think we’ll change the perspective,” on Sunday’s defeat, he said. “After weeks and months, we’ll be able to proudly say that we achieved what Poland wasn’t able to achieve in 36 years.”
Natacha Pisarenko/AP
France, its decorated veterans and its scintillating young star have different aims. Win often enough, and the goals, stats and caps pile up. After replacing Deschamps on stage, Mbappé said he’s been so focused on this World Cup that he refrained from speaking to media until Sunday. He said he even offered to pay the fine levied by FIFA on the French Football Federation out of his own pocket.
“This is the competition of my dreams and I’m delighted to be here, and I’ve been preparing for this tournament all throughout the season physically and mentally,” he said. “I wanted to be ready for this tournament and I am, and so far things are going well. But we’re a long way from the ultimate objective.”
His play is attracting attention and plaudits and has people asking about records and awards. But Mbappé clearly is a young man playing without distraction.
"To be honest no,” he said when asked if he was chasing the World Cup golden ball award given to the most outstanding player. “The only objective for me is to win the World Cup. … I didn’t come here to win the golden boot or golden ball. If I win it, of course I’m going to be happy. But I’m here to win, and I’m here to help the French national team.”
