A brilliant double from Kylian Mbappe on Sunday fired France into the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals as England romped past Senegal to set up a mouthwatering last-eight showdown with Les Bleus.
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Mbappe rifled home two blistering second-half strikes as France cruised to a 3-1 victory over Poland.
Veteran striker Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for the defending champions, writing himself into the history books with his 52nd international goal to pass Thierry Henry as France’s all-time leading scorer.
Photo: Reuters
However, the undisputed star of France’s win at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha was 23-year-old Mbappe, who took his career World Cup goal tally to nine in two tournaments.
“It wasn’t easy, because Poland were well organized and tried to counter us,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “Then there is Kylian with his ability to resolve all sorts of problems, and that’s just as well for us.”
“This team has been united from the beginning, and obviously a result like this one confirms that. The joy is shared among everyone,” Deschamps said.
Poland’s lone goal came from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time.
Striker Robert Lewandowski converted a retaken spot-kick that was awarded for a handball by Dayot Upamecano.
France are bidding to become the first team to win successive World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 after winning Group D in Qatar.
With Mbappe in blistering form, few would bet against France completing their quest for a third World Cup crown to set alongside their titles in 1998 and 2018.
However, their route to the final now includes an increasingly confident England, who powered into the last eight with an impressive win over Senegal at the Al-Bayt Stadium on Sunday.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two