World Cup Qatar | With Mbappé there is no valid curse: France beats Denmark and is already in the round of 16

kylian mbappe he bites into the curse of the world champions, chews it up and ends up swallowing it with his jaws wide open. Neither this bad fate nor the numerous injuries that she has been dragging stop a France that does not need to shine to add six points in the first two days and become the first team qualified for the round of 16 in this Qatar World Cup. The defeated Denmark (1 point) will now have to play the pass against Australia (3) and Tunisia (1) on Wednesday in the epilogue of the group stage.

Spain, Germany, Italy and France itself had been eliminated after lifting the most precious trophy in football four years earlier. Deschamps’ selection now dodges that fate with solvency, clinging to the voracity of a Mbappé who did not need to play a huge game to score two goals and equal Enner Valencia as provisional top scorer of the tournament. She has things to improve France, but she now has room to do it since she is even virtually the first of her group.

France won but can’t boast too much. Dembélé percussed and percussed for the band, accompanied on this occasion by Koundé, who took over from Pavard for the first game (Varane also entered for Konaté in the backbone). It was the most destabilizing element of a France that was concentrating all its threats and that needed one more marchmaybe two, to overwhelm Denmark in other facets of the game.

Little of Griezmann

To a large extent, because Griezmann hardly appeared in that hybrid position that he exercises in France, sometimes inside, other times as a midfielder, sometimes almost in parallel with Giroud. He gave the feeling that Deschamps placed more emphasis in the preparation of the duel in positioning himself well against the Danish scheme with five defenders than in the necessary mechanisms to overcome it.

So little happened in the first half at stadium 974. Varane was the closest to the goal, heading in a corner, Maehle saving the goal when Schmeichel was already beaten. And the Danish goalkeeper shined before another aerial attempt by the Gauls, this time by Rabiot. But little more story had to be told.

Something changed after the break. Either Denmark voluntarily advanced their lines or, more likely, France had the ability to force them to do so. The fact is that the Deschamps team knew how to build those spaces that it takes advantage of so well to increase the volts of the hot afternoon on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

Mbappé warned with a ride, then Griezmann had a frank shot that sent the already completely dark sky over Doha. And finally, when game time was up, he was the star of PSG who, after a wall with Theo Hernández, shot Schmeichel from inside the area to break the initial 0-0.

Start again

The most difficult thing for France was done… but they missed it in just seven minutes. It was in a corner, an art that the Danes dominate, which was resolved with a relentless header from Christensen against a passive Rabiot, after Andersen completed a precise extension in the heart of the area.

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The game seemed to restart, with France again betting on hanging balls into the area to trust their aerial game, but Denmark was revolting, with two good chances for Lindstrom and Braithwaite, who entered the field after the break.

The initiative, however, was French, and they ended up certifying a victory just four minutes from the end of regulation time. Griezmann crossed from the right and Mbappé entered like a plane with a finish off with what he could, which in this case was the thigh. A goal, the second of the night, worth qualifying for the round of 16 and an opportunity for Deschamps to regulate the effort of his players in the last game against Tunisia.