France vs. Poland World Cup lineup, starting 11 for Round of 16 match at Qatar 2022

David Lynch

France vs. Poland World Cup lineup, starting 11 for Round of 16 match at Qatar 2022 image

If anyone considers France's defeat to Tunisia to be proof that the world champions can be got at, then Didier Deschamps will be desperate to quickly correct them in this game. 

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.

MORE: France vs. Poland World Cup time, live stream, TV channel, lineups, odds for FIFA Qatar 2022 match

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.”

MORE: France vs. Poland prediction, odds, betting tips and best bets for World Cup 2022 Round of 16

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

MORE: World Cup bracket 2022: Live updated FIFA knockout stages and printable version for download

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

MORE: World Cup 2022 top goal scorer: Updated rankings in the Golden Boot race

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):

France World Cup squad

PositionNo.PlayerClubAgeCaps
GK23Alphonse AreolaWest Ham (ENG)295
GK1Hugo LlorisTottenham (ENG)35139
GK16Steve MandandaRennes (FRA)3734
DEF3Axel DisasiMonaco (FRA)240
DEF21Lucas HernandezBayern Munich (FRA)2632
DEF22Theo HernandezAC Milan (ITA)257
DEF24Ibrahima KonateLiverpool (ENG)232
DEF5Jules KoundeBarcelona (SPA)2312
DEF2Benjamin PavardBayern Munich (GER)2646
DEF17William SalibaArsenal (ENG)217
DEF18Dayot UpamecanoBayern Munich (GER)237
DEF4Raphael VaraneManchester United (ENG)2987
DEF13Youssouf FofanaMonaco (FRA)232
MID25Eduardo CamavingaReal Madrid (SPA)194
MID6Matteo GuendouziMarseille (FRA)236
MID14Adrien RabiotJuventus (ITA)2729
MID8Aurelien TchouameniReal Madrid (SPA)2214
MID15Jordan VeretoutMarseille (FRA)295
FWD11Ousmane DembeleBarcelona (FRA)2528
FWD20Kingsley ComanBayern Munich (GER)2640
FWD 9Olivier GiroudAC Milan (ITA)36114
FWD7Antoine GriezmannAtletico Madrid (SPA)31110
FWD10Kylian MbappePSG (FRA)2359
FWD26Marcus ThuramBor. M'Gladbach (GER)254
FWD12Randal Kolo MuaniEintracht Frankfurt (GER)232

Poland World Cup squad

PositionNo.PlayerClubAgeCaps
GK1Wojciech SzczesnyJuventus (ITA)3266
GK12Lukasz SkorupskiBologna (ITA) 318
GK22Kamil GrabaraCopenhagen (DEN)231
DEF5Jan BednarekAston Villa (ENG)2645
DEF15Kamil Glik Benevento (ITA)3499
DEF2Matty CashAston Villa (ENG)257
DEF14Jakub Kiwior Spezia (ITA)223
DEF25Robert Gumny FC Augsburg (GER)245
DEF18Bartosz Bereszynski Sampdoria (ITA)3046
DEF4Mateusz WieteskaClermont (FRA)252
DEF3Artur JedrzejczykLegia Warsaw (POL)3440
MID21Nicola Zalewski Roma (ITA)207
MID26Michal SkorasLech Poznan (POL)221
MID10Grzegorz KrychowiakAl Shabab (SAU)3294
MID20Piotr ZielinskiNapoli (ITA)2874
MID6Krystian BielikBirmingham (ENG)245
MID11Kamil Grosicki Pogon Szczecin (POL)3487
MID24Przemyslaw FrankowskiLens (FRA)2726
MID19Sebastian SzymanskiFeyenoord (NED)2318
MID8Damian SzymanskiAEK Athens (GRE)279
MID17Szymon ZurkowskiFiorentina (ITA)257
MID13Jakub KaminskiWolfsburg (GER)204
FWD23Krzysztof PiatekSalernitana (ITA)2711
FWD16Karol Swiderski Charlotte (USA)2518
FWD7Arkadiusz MilikJuventus (ITA)2864
FWD9Robert LewandowskiBarcelona (SPA)34134

David Lynch

David Lynch is a freelance football journalist primarily covering Liverpool FC. He has reported on the the Reds for over a decade for publications such as the Sunday Mirror and Evening Standard, carving out a reputation as a trusted voice on all things Anfield in the process. Having followed Liverpool across England and Europe over the course of his career, David has filed from illustrious venues such as Camp Nou, the Allianz Arena and the Estadio do Dragao, as well as from multiple Champions League finals.