By Philip O’Connor
Doha: Kylian Mbappe scored twice to send champions France into the last 16 of the World Cup as they beat Denmark 2-1 in their group D clash at the 974 Stadium on Sunday morning AEDT, making them the first side to qualify for the knockout stage.
France top the group on six points, three ahead of Australia, who beat Tunisia 1-0 on Saturday evening, with the Danes and the Tunisians both on one point.
Marcus Thuram and Kylian Mbappe of France celebrate after the teams 2-1 win over Denmark in Doha.Credit:Getty Images
In the final round for the group, France will take on Tunisia and Denmark meet the Socceroos at 2am AEDT on Thursday.
A tight, tense first half saw France enjoy the better chances as Adrien Rabiot went close with a header and the Danes were forced into a number of last-ditch blocks to keep their clean sheet intact.
It was not to last and Mbappe put the French ahead in the 61st minute, crowning a superb high-speed French counter with a bouncing first-time finish from Theo Hernandez’s clever pull-back.
Always a danger from set pieces, Andreas Christensen put the Danes level seven minutes later, stealing in behind the defence and stooping to head home.
Neither side seemed content with a draw and Rabiot fired a spectacular volley over in the 80th minute, and a minute later substitute Martin Braithwaite fired a first-time effort of his own just wide of the near post.
The game looked set to end in a stalemate until Mbappe popped up in the 86th minute at the far post to cushion home an Antoine Griezmann cross from close range to restore the lead to send the travelling French fans into raptures.
Denmark threw everything forward looking for a second equaliser, leaving acres of space at the back, but their late attacks against a side they beat twice in the recent Nations League campaign lacked precision and the French held on for the win that put them through.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
