France vs Poland: Records, Stats, Goals, Head to Head & everything to know

France and Poland will go head to head in a round of 16 fixture of the Qatar World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium on Sunday. Both sides ended their group stage on a losing note. The reigning champions suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Tunisia in their final Group D fixture on Wednesday, but the Les Blues had already won their first two games to secure top spot in the section. Poland,. meanwhile, were convincingly beaten 2-0 by Argentina, but still managed to sneak through as runner ups from Group C as  Mexico failed to beat Saudi Arabia by a wide enough margin. 

France began their campaign with a dominant 4-1 victory over Australia in their opener, before getting the better of Denmark 2-1 in their second match, and securing a spot in the last-16, courtesy of a brace from Kylian Mbappe. Since qualification was already secured, head coach Didier Deschamps made a couple of changes for the final group match against Tunisia. The African outfit managed to register a historic victory courtesy of Wahbi Khazri’s lone goal in the 58th-minute at the Education City Stadium. Although Antonine Griezmann managed to find the back of the net on the stroke of the final whistle, the goal was disallowed for offside after VAR intervention. 

Read more: France vs Poland: FIFA World Cup Live Stream, Form Guide, Head to Head, Schedule, Fixture and Probable Lineups

Poland, on the other hand, started off their World Cup campaign with a goalless draw against Mexico in their opener, before getting the better of Saudi Arabia 2-0. The Eagles went into the final group match, knowing that a draw was enough to secure them a place in the knockouts. Head coach Czeslaw Michniewicz opted for a defensive game plan with Robert Lewandowski being the lone man up front. Although the South American champions netted twice to take all three points and go through as group winners, the Reds managed to follow them as runner ups. 

𝙇𝙀𝙎 𝙑𝘼𝙄𝙉𝙌𝙐𝙀𝙐𝙍𝙎 𝘿𝙐 𝙅𝙊𝙐𝙍 💪😝#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/OT4iUFTzil

— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) December 1, 2022

Argentina vs Australia: Records, Stats & Goals

It has been 40 years since France last suffered defeat against Poland, who knocked them out of the World Cup in 1982 before a 4-0 friendly win later that year, but since the Les Blues have registered seven successive wins against the Eagles, most recently prevailing 1-0 in a 2011 friendly. Once again, the two-time world champions will be the favourites to go through to the last-8, but it would be interesting to see whether Poland can give them a tough time by remaining solid and compact at the back, and use their attackers Robert Lewandowski, Milik and Piotr Zielinski to spring a surprise at the other end.

France vs Poland Head-to-Head Record