France and Poland meet at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET for their round of 16 clash. The defending champions topped Group D while the Poles managed to sneak second place in Group C behind Argentina. The French lost 1-0 to Tunisia last time out but Didier Deschamps heavily rotated his side while the Polish went down 2-0 to Lionel Messi’s Argentine outfit. Many consider Poland lucky to get this far given Saudi Arabia and Mexico’s spirited displays while France looked good against both Australia and Denmark. Superstar pair Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski are both off the mark for goals in Qatar with the Paris Saint-Germain man on three and the Barcelona hotshot on one coming into this matchup.
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Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, Dec. 4 | Time: 10:00 a.m. ET
- Location: Al Thumama Stadium — Doha, Qatar
- TV: FS1 and Telemundo | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
- Odds: France -350; Draw: +400; Poland +1100 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | France vs. Poland
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Team news
France: Theo Hernandez’s ankle knock should not prevent him from starting at left-back here while backup goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has been the only other injury concern with a back problem which did not stop him from being on the bench against Tunisia. Otherwise, Deschamps’ players have a clean bill of health and Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, and Olivier Giroud should all start after being rested from the off against the Tunisians. One more goal for Giroud and he will be the undisputed top scorer for his country ahead of Thierry Henry. Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni will form the base of the midfield once more after Jordan Veretout and Youssouf Fofana failed to impress against the Eagles of Carthage.
Poland: Czeslaw Michniewicz has a full strength squad to pick from here albeit with six players on bookings who could potentially be suspended if they were to make it into the quarterfinals. Przemyslaw Frankowski and Karol Swiderski were subbed off at halftime against Argentina, but the RC Lens man is unlikely to lose his starting role while Arkadiusz Milik or Krzysztof Piatek could partner Lewandowski in attack.
Prediction
Poland did well to hold on to get this far while France were convincing until they started to rest players ahead of this one. Expect Les Bleus to pick up where they left off which is bad news for the Poles who will once again need Wojciech Szczesny to put in a big performance between the sticks to stand any chance of an upset. Pick: France 3, Poland 1.