Can France win second World Cup title in a row? Former PSG boss Pochettino responds

By Sunita Iyer | First Published Dec 5, 2022, 10:24 PM IST

Defending champions France beat Poland 3-1 in the round of 16 at the Qatar World Cup 2022, and will now face England in the quarter-finals of the showpiece event.

Although France beat Poland 3-1 to go to the FIFA World Cup 2022 quarter-finals in Qatar, former Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino thinks there is still much opportunity for growth. The Argentinean critiqued the 1998 and 2018 world winners' performances against Poland, contending that Kylian Mbappe's brilliance contributed more to their victory than their collective teamwork.

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"France must improve a lot and play as a team to have a chance," Pochettino told the BBC. "They need to increase their level of play and their quality. If they really want to be candidates to win the World Cup they have to play as a team."

Like many others, the former Tottenham manager showered plaudits on Mbappe, who has so far been the World Cup's star performer.

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"He did a fantastic job against Poland," Pochettino continued. "His talent is incredible and it's impossible to stop him. His quality, his ability to hit, and his technique is very good. He's a real nightmare for the opposing defences."

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Mbappe fires warning to England

France will now face a lively England side after the Three Lions thumped Senegal 3-0 in their round-of-16 game. Mbappe, who now has nine World Cup goals in his career, has stated he is 'obsessed' with the idea of winning the World Cup.

Mbappe's two curling goals for France against Poland on Sunday gave the hosts the victory and placed the PSG striker on pace to win the Golden Boot with five goals overall. At Al Thumama Stadium, Mbappe also assisted Olivier Giroud's opening goal, but he insisted following his team's 3-1 triumph that individual recognition is not important to him for the next two weeks.

"The only objective for me is to win the World Cup," Mbappe said.

Also read: 'Only objective for me is to win the World Cup' - Mbappe on if he is eyeing Golden Ball

"Now to win the next game, the quarter-final, is the most important thing and that is what I dream. The only thing I dream of is this. I came here to win this World Cup. I didn't come here to win the Golden Ball or Golden Boot. If I win it, of course I'm going to be happy but that's not why I am here. I am here to win and to help the French national team," the 23-year-old added.

"Of course, this World Cup is an obsession for me. It's the competition of my dreams. I have built my season around this competition and being physically and mentally ready for it. I wanted to come here ready and so far things are going well, but we are still a long way from the objective we set and that I set," Mbappe added.

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