On Saturday, France became the first team to qualify for the knockout phase with a 2-1 win against Denmark. Meanwhile, Australia moved second in Group D after sealing a tense victory over Tunisia.
Poland beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 to snatch top spot in Group C, while Argentina beat Mexico by the same scoreline to kick-start their campaign. Here’s a look at everything you need to know from Day 7 of the 2022 World Cup.
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#FIFAWorldCup matchday 7 ✅
Mitchell Duke’s excellent glancing header proved to be the difference between Australia and Tunisia in the first game of the day. The Socceroos needed to bounce back after losing 4-1 to France – and they did just that.
The Tunisians grew into the contest and came close to scoring on a few occasions. But despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession and recording 14 shots, they failed to find a way through.
Saudi Arabia produced one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history when they beat Argentina, but they couldn’t replicate the achievement against Poland – despite registering 64% possession and 16 shots.
Piotr Zielinski gave Poland the lead on 39 minutes before Robert Lewandowski sealed the deal on 82 minutes, netting his first-ever World Cup goal. Poland now sit atop Group C, with Argentina and Saudi Arabia on point behind.
France and Denmark’s Group D contest took a while to get going. However, Kylian Mbappe broke the deadlock just after the hour mark before Andreas Christensen equalised for the Danes seven minutes later.
The stage was set for a hero to grab the winner – and the hero proved to be Mbappe once again. The PSG star bundled home an Antoine Griezmann cross on 86 minutes to send France into the knockouts.
Lionel Messi’s superb long-range effort midway through the second half put Argentina in control against Mexico. The little magician has now scored a whopping 93 goals in 167 games for his country.
Another excellent strike, this time from Enzo Fernandez, wrapped up the win for Argentina late on. The Mexicans managed a solitary attempt on target throughout the game and find themselves bottom of Group C as a result.