This turned into a fine night's work for France, who finished in complete control and could feel that their attack is clicking at the perfect moment. After a slow start they overwhelmed Poland and a team blown off kilter by injuries have discovered a measure of swagger. Much of that came from Mbappé, whose second-half performance was among the best individual displays of this tournament, but they reached the last eight by deploying a number of their most potent weapons.
It was Giroud who applied the first blow and, were it not for Mbappé, his feat would dominate every appraisal. In truth it deserves to. Thierry Henry had set a high-water mark by scoring his 51st and final goal for France in October 2009 and perhaps few would have expected the 36-year-old Giroud, whose contributions have often been maligned, to be the player overtaking him. But the chopped, brutally clinical finish across Wojciech Szczesny that met Mbappé's smart through pass was the type he has delivered frequently over an outstanding career and had added significance given his team were labouring at the time.
This story is from the December 05, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 05, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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