France vs Denmark Highlights: Mbappe double takes France into World Cup knockout stage | Football News

NEW DELHI: Kylian Mbappe shone for the defending champions with a brace as France beat Denmark 2-1 in their second match in Group D of the fifa world cup 2022 on Saturday. With this victory, France became the first team to qualify for the round of 16 in Qatar with one game in hand.
France now have six points from two games, having won their opener against Australia 4-1. They top the group standings, three ahead of Australia, who beat Tunisia 1-0 earlier in the day, with the Danes and Tunisians one point apiece.
Mbappe scored his two second-half goals, the first to break the deadlock in the 61st minute and the winner in the 86th minute after Andreas Christensen scored the equalizer for Denmark in the 68th minute.

A close and tense first half saw France take advantage of the better chances as Adrien Rabiot went close with a header and the Danes were forced into a number of last resort blocks to keep their clean sheet intact.
It wasn’t to last and Mbappe put the French ahead in the 61st minute, capping a superb high-speed French counter with a bouncing first time from Theo Hernandez’s clever drop.
Still in danger from set pieces, Andreas Christensen leveled the Danes seven minutes later, slipping behind the defense and bending down to head home.
Neither team seemed happy with a draw and Rabiot fired a spectacular volley in the 80th minute, and a minute later he substituted Martin Braithwaite fired a first effort from him just wide of the near post.

The match looked set to end in a stalemate until Mbappe popped up in the 86th minute at the far post to cushion a close-range cross from Antoine Griezmann to restore the lead and send the French fans away on the move in rapture.
Denmark threw everything forward in search of 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 the campaign lacked precision and the French held on for the victory that put them through.
France take on Tunisia and Denmark meet the Socceroos in the final round on Wednesday.
(With agency contributions)