Defending champions France won 2-1 (0-0) against Denmark at the World Cup in Qatar and were the first team to reach the round of 16 early. The French succeeded in doing what Germany, Spain and Italy had recently failed to do.
Didier Deschamps announced that his team had learned something new. The French had played against Denmark twice this year in the Nations League, both times they had to admit defeat. So France’s national coach said before the next meeting: “We know them, they know us. We have learned from the defeats.”
And after the 2:1 (0:0) of the French against Denmark nobody could contradict him. France’s attacking artists whirled the Danish defense over and over again. Kylian Mbappé (61st and 86th) scored twice for the French, Andreas Christensen (68th) had equalized in the meantime.
France breaks the world champion curse
This puts France in the round of 16 before the last group game against Tunisia (30/11/2022, 4 p.m. CET). The Danes, on the other hand, need to beat Australia at the same time and hope Tunisia don’t win against France. Then they move into the next round. Most recently, the defending champions Germany, Spain and Italy were eliminated in the preliminary round. France broke this “world champion curse”.
France and Denmark with respectable combination football
It was obvious from the start that both teams know each other well. Denmark tried to stop France’s transition game; the French had resolved not to allow the Danish wing game to develop. It was striking how diligently France’s offensive artists worked backwards. And despite knowing about the opponent’s strengths, a lively game developed in which the French were more dangerous.
Mbappé and Dembélé shake up Denmark
In particular, the fast Kylian Mbappé and Ousman Dembélé whirled Denmark’s defense upside down. When Mbappé was sent in the 20th minute, Andreas Christensen could only stop him with a foul and got a yellow card. The French had asked for a dismissal because Mbappé could have run to goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel alone. The free-kick that was due reached Dembelé, who started to dribble on the right wing and then dangerously crossed. Schmeichel was able to parry Adrien Rabot’s header with difficulty.
Even before the break, Mbappé (40th) missed what was probably the greatest chance of the first half when he shot a cross from the right well over the goal. Denmark only posed a threat once, when Andreas Cornelius hit the side netting.
Mbappé takes the lead, Christensen equalizes
France’s artists appeared to be dying in beauty even after the break. Mbappé dribbled halfway across the field, but his shot with the left was too unplaced (56′). Griezmann took a through ball with his chest and then fired well over it from within the penalty area. But then they took the lead: Mbappé pushed the ball into the bottom right corner after a wonderful interaction with Theo Hernández (61st).
Superstar Mbappé decides the game
Anyone who thought that the French would easily finish the game from then on was wrong. Denmark became bolder and only shortly afterwards equalized with Christensen’s header in the six-yard box (68′). The game was completely open from then on. Jesper Lindstroem (73′) and Martin Braithwaite (81′) had the lead on foot. And France continued to have great opportunities. The Danes were just able to parry Aurélien Tchouaméni’s header (79′) and Rabio’s artistic side kick went just over the goal (80′).
Both teams could have won this game, but in the end Mbappé’s class decided the game. After a cross from Griezmann, he was right and pushed the ball over the line to make it 2-1.