(sabasports report)Kylian Mbappe, the highly anticipated “Ninja Turtle”, made his debut in France’s final two matches in Group D against Poland, but the “Gallic Cogs” failed to use their speed advantage to break through the Polish defense and were eventually drawn 1-1 to qualify for the knockout round as second in the group.
In the first round, Mbappe broke his nose when he threw the ball from the top, and took the second game off the bench. In this game, Mba started wearing a mask, and won the title of “Ninja Turtles”. In the absence of Antoine Griezmann, France attacked mainly through their speed advantage down the wings, repeatedly threatening Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Skorupski in goal. Poland continued to defend and counterattack, using air superiority to cross. Robert Lewandowski headed a ball in the box that bounced off the defender’s leg and off the line. It should have been a Polish corner, but the referee misjudged it as a goal.
The VAR, which has been outstanding for many times in this tournament, has failed to do Lewan justice. According to the rules, the VAR only judges goals, red cards, penalties and other situations, excluding the corner opportunities created by Lewan.
France have no shortage of pace players and are clearly better individually than Poland, but lack a centre forward in the box and a playmaker in midfield. Every time a French player rushed to the line, there was no contact in the middle, and the camera was always on Griezmann outside the field. This deficiency is evident in the game, despite the strong individual ability of the team, the overall coordination still needs to be improved.