France the first nation to qualify for the World Cup last 16 after victory over Denmark

France are the first nation through to the last 16 of the 2022 Qatar World Cup after an exciting win over Denmark.

France went in search of the victory that would see them qualify for the knockout stages of the 2022 Qatar World Cup this afternoon, Saturday, November 26. Their opponents in Doha’s Stadium 974 were Denmark, who have already beaten them twice in Nation’s League matches.

With Australia beating Tunisia earlier today, the Danes know they have to pull out all the stops after a dour draw in their previous opening group game against the African nation. 

The Tricolore 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚-𝙪𝙥 to face Denmark 👊
Kick-off at 5pm CET

🇫🇷🇩🇰 | #FRADEN | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/tEPYZkxYFK

— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) November 26, 2022

Didier Deschamps brought in defenders Raphael Varane of Manchester United, and Barcelona’s Jules Kounde. He is without Lucas Hernandez for the rest of the tournament after he injured his knee against Australia. 

🇩🇰 DEN DANSKE STARTOPSTILLING 🇩🇰

Kasper Hjulmand stiller op med dette stærke hold til kampen mod Frankrig 💪#ForDanmark #worldcup
📸 @fbbillederdk pic.twitter.com/1RXiAKcGJB

— Fodboldlandsholdene 🇩🇰 (@dbulandshold) November 26, 2022

A pretty uneventful first 45 minutes saw France pressing the Danes but they never looked like scoring. Ousmane Dembele set Kylian Mbappe up for the best opportunity of the half after 41 minutes but he skied it.

Who else by Mbappe was on hand in the 61st minute, latching onto a superb pass from Theo Hernandez. The young forward stabbed the ball home from around eight yards, taking a small deflection on its way into the net.

Incredibly, Denmark refused to accept defeat as Andreas Christensen headed in Christian Eriksen’s corner just six minutes later to level the scores at 1-1.

Kylian Mbappe is making a huge name for himself in this tournament with his second goal of the match after 87 minutes. Again, not the cleanest of finishes, turning Griezmann’s cross in with his thigh from close range to seal the win for the defending champions and make them the first nation to qualify for the last 16.

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