The first of the World Cup action on Sunday, December 2 sees France meet Poland in the last 16 as both teams hope to reach the quarter-final.
The match will be played at Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha.
What time is France vs Poland?
The match kicks off at 6pm local time which means it will start at 3pm in the UK and the coverage will be shown on the BBC.
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In the US, FS1 and Telemundo will be showing the match and kick off is at 10am EST and 7am PT.
Both France and Poland work on Central European Time (CET) so kick off in those countries will be at 4pm.
Team news
France have been seriously unlucky with injuries before and during this World Cup so there was no surprise to see Didier Deschamps make wholesale changes for their final game in Group D.
The second-choice players were hardly able to stake their claim for a starting berth though, as they were beaten 1-0 by Tunisia. The France boss may well choose to revert to the starting XI that beat Denmark in the second group game.
Poland weren’t particularly convincing at any stage during their group games but, more importantly than anything else, they are into the last 16. Czeslaw Michniewicz wasn’t enthused with the performance against Argentina as they flirted with going out throughout that game.
But, in the absence of genuine alternatives, an unchanged team is likely to take to the field against France.
Griezmann and Mbappe will be restored to the starting XI for France (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)Predicted line-ups
France (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Kounde, Konate, Upamecano, (Theo) Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud.
Poland (4-4-2): Szczesny; Cash, Glik, Kiwior, Bereszynski; Zielinski, Bielik, Krychowiak, Frankowski; Swiderski, Lewandowski.
The story so far
As many expected, France made relative light work of making their way through Group D. They survived an early scare to cruise past Australia in their first game before Kylian Mbappe single-handedly dealt with Denmark, scoring both goals in the 2-1 win.
The Tunisia game was less important because the holders had already confirmed their safe passage and it showed in the team selection and performance. They were beaten 1-0, although there was some controversy around Antoine Griezmann’s late equaliser that was ruled out.
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Poland have perhaps been the least inspiring of the sides who have progressed into the last 16. They created very little in their opener against Mexico, although Robert Lewandowski was denied by Guillermo Ochoa from the penalty spot.
Wojciech Szczesny recreated those heroics in the next game to deny Saudi Arabia in a game Poland were fortunate to run out 2-0 winners from. Their most disappointing performance came in their final group game, against Argentina, and they had to rely on their goalkeeper again.
This time, Szczesny saved Lionel Messi’s penalty as Poland snuck into the knockout stage with a goal difference one goal healthier than Mexico’s.
Despite Poland’s defeat, Szczesny’s penalty save turned out to be a vital one (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)Players carrying yellow cards
France: Jules Kounde.
Poland: Przemyslaw Frankowski, Jakub Kiwior, Matty Cash, Arkadiusz Milik, Grzegorz Krychowiak.
What’s at stake?
A place in the quarter-final.
France will be expectant of reaching the last eight for the fourth time in the last five World Cups. Only two teams have ever defended their crown in this tournament, Italy in 1938 then Brazil in 1962; France could become the third this year.
As for Poland, the odds are stacked against them and, watching their games at this World Cup so far, it’s not hard to see why. Were they to somehow knock out the holders, it would be the first time since 1982 that they have made it into the last eight.
Prediction
France to beat Poland.
France to win: 50%. Poland to win: 23%. Draw: 27%.
To progress to the quarter final: France: 65%, Poland: 35%.
All of our predictions for the 2022 World Cup are powered by Nielsen’s Gracenote, who have used a proprietary football ranking system to estimate the chances of different results for every possible match through extensive simulations, to assess the chances for each team to reach different stages of the tournament.
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Who is likely to await in the next round?
The winner of this match will face the winner of the last-16 tie between England and Senegal.
Based on the betting odds, the Three Lions are overwhelming favourites to make into the quarter-final but it certainly won’t be easy for them against the African champions.
Both of those sides would provide a stern test for either France or Poland but the winner would definitely rather face Senegal than the dangerous side at Gareth Southgate’s disposal.
Wider reading
If his performances in Group D are anything to go by, Mbappe looks on course to fire France to the latter stages once again, but he is going back to a strange situation at Paris-Saint Germain. Meanwhile, Szczesny admitted to a wager he had with Messi in Poland’s last game.
Follow the latest Qatar World Cup news, analysis, tables, fixtures and more here.
(Top photo: Getty Images)
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