Well-known journalist Roberto Morales told what he expects from one of the matches of the 1/8 finals of the 2022 World Cup, in which France and Poland will play today.
“In my opinion, this is too obvious a couple to predict, but we will try to reasonably understand all the nuances of this confrontation.
Even with all the personnel losses, Le Bleu is one of the main favorites of the World Cup. A very determined attitude is demonstrated by her mentor Didier Deschamps. At the start of this World Cup, France scored a strong-willed victory over Australia, 4:1, and after that, thanks to a double from Kylian Mbappe, defeated Denmark, 2:1. The minimum task was completed - the national team received a ticket to the playoffs of the 2022 World Cup. For the final game of the group stage, Deschamps released the reserve squad, giving the most important players a rest. The reserve team lost to Tunisia, 0:1, but it was immediately noticeable that the team was playing purely because of the need to do this - without any motivation. France remained in first place in the quartet.
Her opponent had an amazing group stage performance. Poland did not play a single quality match in terms of content, but went through to the playoffs. She could make her task much easier if Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty in the first match. Goalkeeper Ochoa parried the blow of the Barcelona striker, and the game ended 0-0. In the second match, the Eagles defeated Saudi Arabia, 2:0. In the final round, the wards of Cheslav Mikhnevich lost to Argentina, 0:2. The Poles took second place in the group, but if in a parallel meeting the Mexicans defeated Saudi Arabia by three goals (which could happen), then Lewandowski and the company would have completed their performances in Qatar.
The Poles themselves understand that they played lousy in the group. Indicative in this regard are the words of Wojciech Szczesny after the fight with Argentina: “It was disgusting, terrible and wonderful. The match went on for a very long time. About five hours, in my opinion. But we have gone further. I don't care how we did it. But we played ugly all 95 minutes of the match". Something similar sounded from the lips of Robert Lewandowski, who promised that the fans would see another Poland against France.
It is unlikely that it will be Poland, capable of passing the reigning world champions. But it should be Poland, which, even in the event of a defeat, will have reason to be proud of itself. The main task of our neighbors is to play in such a way that there is no shame, ”said Morales.