By defeating Peru (1-0) on Tuesday in Yekaterinburg, thanks to a goal from Kylian Mbappé, France qualified for the Round of 16 of the World Cup.
The French team will play in the Round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup. With two wins in as many matches, against Australia (2-1) last Saturday, and then against Peru (1-0) today, they have already secured their qualification ahead of their third and final encounter against Denmark, on Tuesday, June 26, in Moscow (4:00 PM on TF1). The French and Danish teams will compete for first place in Group C, which the Blues lead with 6 points. Meanwhile, Peru is eliminated.
As the Blues anticipated, Peru proved to be a challenging opponent to maneuver against, evidenced by their 56% ball possession at the end of the ninety minutes. However, the most significant chances were credited to the Tricolores, who had more on-target attempts (4 out of 6 compared to the South Americans’ 2 out of 6). One of these chances scored in the first half. Trailing in the score, the “Incas” tried everything to equalize in the second half, but the Tricolore defense managed to control their offensives.
For this second match, Didier Deschamps made two changes in his starting eleven compared to the one fielded against Australia in Kazan. Blaise Matuidi in midfield on the left side, and Olivier Giroud as central forward, were given starting positions. Both had come on as substitutes in the second half against Australia. During the match, the coach used his three substitution possibilities (Dembélé, Fekir, and Nzonzi).
Just one goal in this match, but it was enough for the happiness of the Blues. Scored by Kylian Mbappé in the 34th minute, after a high recovery from Paul Pogba, and a left-footed shot by Olivier Giroud deflected by a defender that Peruvian goalkeeper Pedro Gallese could not control. Poised, the Tricolore striker only had to push the ball into the wide-open goal, becoming the youngest French scorer in World Cup history and the ninth youngest scorer in the competition’s history. He was named man of the match by FIFA.
REACTION OF DIDIER DESCHAMPS
“We suffered in the second half, there was a lot of pace. We had trouble getting the ball out and when we recovered it, we lost it quickly, against a good Peruvian team. We’re qualified, that was our goal. It’s a great satisfaction concerning what the players did tonight. We’ve won our first two matches; not everyone is in this situation. However, we’re not getting carried away. Now, the objective will be to finish in the first place of the group. But before that, we will savor and then recover well in anticipation of this third match.”
THE STAT: 100
The goalkeeper and captain of the Blues, Hugo Lloris, celebrated his hundredth appearance in blue during this match. He thus joins the exclusive circle of Tricolore “centurions,” alongside Lilian Thuram (142), Thierry Henry (123), Marcel Desailly (116), Zinédine Zidane (108), and Patrick Vieira (107). He was decisive in the first half on a shot by Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero (31st), and was fortunate to see a long-range shot by Pedro Aquino (50th) miss the outside of his post.
