France started the World Cup with more questions than answers after being ravaged by injuries, but they quickly ended the curse of the defending champions to reach the final thanks to their ruthlessness, mental strength and moments of sheer brilliance.
Kylian Mbappe scored five goals in his first three matches while Olivier Giroud, who owes his place in the starting line-up to Karim Benzema’s last-minute injury, became France’s all-time goal scorer as he launched the campaign with the first goal of their inaugural 4-1 win against Australia. He also netted the winner in the 2-1 victory against England in the quarterfinal.
Mbappe tapped in the opener in the 61st minute of a tense encounter, seven minutes before Andreas Christiansen headed home the equaliser. Mbappe, however, bundled the ball over the line with four minutes left from Antoine Griezmann’s cross, sending France into the last 16 with one game to spare.Coach Didier Deschamps made nine changes for the match as his team were almost guaranteed top spot in Group D.
The fringe players failed to live up to expectations as Wahbi Khazri scored the only goal before the hour. Substitute Griezmann equalised in stoppage time, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside after a VAR review initiated after the final whistle.
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