A much-changed Les Bleus lineup rounded off Group D with a 1-0 loss but their big-hitters will be restored against Poland in the Round of 16 and so they will expect normal service to resume.
Hopes of doing exactly that will certainly have been boosted by a poor Polish performance against Argentina that ended with them one goal concession away from crashing out of the tournament.
But Deschamps is taking nothing for granted, and said: “Even a great nation, if she is not ready, can have unpleasant situations.”
Below are the projected lineups for both teams.
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France vs. Poland confirmed lineups
Czeslaw Michniewicz hinted he would need to bolster Poland’s midfield in order to provide better service for Robert Lewandowski against France.
A move to a two-man attack helped the Polish to victory over Saudi Arabia in their second game in Qatar but also allowed them to be dominated by Argentina as they rounded off the group stages.
On the potential for changes, the Poland boss said: “It’s definitely a problem, we played difficult passes in easy situations, we didn’t create enough opportunities for Robert.
“Strikers like that, they need to be near the penalty box. If they are there, like in the match with Saudi Arabia, they could score four goals.
“In the match with Argentina, the opponents didn’t allow us to do a lot. We need to realise such an opponent as France will dictate the conditions of the game.
“It’s very difficult to escape their pressing but some teams have succeeded. In order to take advantage of every team we need to bring the strikers to the right zone, you can’t normally score from your own half.”
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France confirmed starting 11
France confirmed lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) — 5. Kounde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 7. Griezmann, 8. Tchouameni, 14. Rabiot — 11. Dembele, 9. Giroud, 10. Mbappe
Injured: Benzema, L. Hernandez Suspended: None
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Poland confirmed starting 11
Poland confirmed lineup (3-5-2, right to left): 1. Szczesny (GK) —15. Glik, 14. Kiwior, 18. Bereszynski — 2. Cash, 20. Zielinski, 19. Szymanski, 10. Krychowiak, 24. Frankowski — 13. Kaminski, 9. Lewandowski
Injured: None Suspended: None
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France vs. Poland World Cup squads
Here are the names on France and Poland’s World Cup squad lists in Qatar (caps correct as of start of Qatar 2022):
