It was hard to be optimistic ahead of the white and red team’s game against France, given how our players fared in the group stage at the World Cup in Qatar. It was boring, defensive football, with four shots on target in three games and lots of luck getting out of the group. Meanwhile, the reigning world champions battled the Poles for promotion to the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, fans of the whites and reds in the first half were able to rub their eyes in astonishment. They were a completely different team, playing aggressive, pressing, brave. The French had a better quality of football, but the whites and reds made up for the shortcomings with fighting all over the pitch. Wojciech Szczęsny looked great again. The world champions tried far and near, but Szczęsny was still where he needed to be. The most dangerous was after a bad game from Przemysław Frankowski, when he passed Ousmane Dembele, and Olivier Giroud couldn’t direct the ball into the net a few meters away. Over time, the Poles have shown they can take the initiative on the pitch. It was our team that played a positional attack, and the opponents were waiting for an opportunity to counter. At one point, the white and red team held the ball the longest. There were situations where the penalty area got bogged down, but our players were closest to luck in the 37th minute of the game. Piotr Zieliński shot, but Hugo Lloris made a nice save, and a moment after the rebound one of the defenders cleared the ball from the goal line. It was a great opportunity to take the lead in a sensational way. Earlier, Robert Lewandowski fired a shot off target from distance. The Poles played very well in defence, but one mistake proved to be very costly. Just before the break, Kylian Mbappe sent a fine pass into the penalty area, and Giroud evaded Jakub Kiwior and gave Szczęsny no chance with a shot into the long corner.

In the second half, France were counting on Mbappe’s quick actions, but it wasn’t easy for this footballer to play, as Matty Cash resisted him perfectly. The Poles were looking for their chance to score an equalizer, but it was difficult to create a clear goalscoring opportunity. Mbappé, on the other hand, showed class, ruthlessly taking advantage of defenders’ mistakes and scoring twice. The last action of the match, farewell to the World Cup, belonged to the Poles. After playing Kamil Grosicki with his hand, Dayot Upamecano played the ball into the penalty area, and the referee, after analyzing the VAR, awarded a penalty. Lloris saved Lewandowski’s shot, but it crossed the goal line and the referee ordered a replay. This time Lewandowski headed the ball into the net and that’s how our national team said goodbye to the World Cup in Qatar.