France 2-1 Denmark summary: Mbappé brace, score, stats & highlights | World Cup 2022 Qatar

WORLD CUP 2022

Argentina vs France live online: odds, lineups & predictions | World Cup 2022 final updates

Follow live online coverage of the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, as Argentina face France at Lusail Stadium. Joe Brennan will be providing pre-match news and commentary of all the action from the game - join him!

Thanks for joining!

That's all from me today. Thanks for your company! 

The good news is we have plenty more World Cup action to come here at AS USA. Have a nice weekend and see you next time!

Six in a row for France

Opta - France have won six consecutive games at the World Cup for the first time in their history. They are the first side to do so in the tournament since Spain in 2010.

According to Opta, Les Bleus have become the first reigning champions to reach the knockout stages in the following World Cup since Brazil in 2006.

Group D

This is how Group D looks after today's games:

1 | France - 6 points

2 | Australia - 3

3 | Denmark - 1

4 | Tunisia - 1

The reigning champions are through

France have won their opening games and have booked their place in the last 16 thanks to a Kylian Mbappé brace at the Stadium 974.

FT: France 2-1 Denmark

There is the whistle!

The reigning champions are through to the last 16!

Denmark are in trouble.

 Maehle's shot goes over!

Bah is going to take a long throw-in!

It's their last chance...

Mbappé is now back on his feet. 

Mbappé is down after a challenge from Bah.

Rabiot breaks up the Danish counter attack.

France keep possession...

Can Denmark find a way through?

The click ticks down...

Three World Cup goals for Mbappé

He has his brace!

Griezmann goes off

OFF Antoine Griezmann

ON Youssouf Fofana

Denmark change

OFF Rasmus Kristensen

ON Alexander Bah

Mbappé is through on goal. 

The ball bounces up, he goes for the volley, but it's straight at Schmeichel.

There will be six minutes added on!

Mbappé brace

It's now 14 goals in 12 France games for Kylian Mbappé!

As things stand, France are in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup.

Griezmann crosses to the back post and Mbappé is there to score from close range. It looks like it comes off his right thigh. Griezmann's cross is from the right and Mbappé gets in at the back post on the left. 2-1 to France

Denmark sub

OFF Lindstrom

ON Norgaard

France have lost their way since the withdrawal of Giroud.

Tchouaméni is down after getting hit in the ribs. France have had no luck with injuries recently. Kanté, Pogba and Benzema are among the injured.

Braithwaite!

Huge chance!

He sends it just wide. It's very, very close.

Denmark are going for it.

Rabiot with the acrobatics!

Hernandez picks him out at the back post and Rabiot thinks he's Richarlison but can't execute and it flies over.

Griezmann trots over to the other side to take another corner. Schmeichel punches it away!

Christensen concedes the corner after Rabiot does well on the right. Griezmann's corner is headed wide by Tchouaméni. It actually deflects off Maehle and goes out for another corner.

Griezmann takes the corner from the left. Andersen gets up highest to head it away. 1-1

The official attendance tonight is 42,860.

The momentum is with Denmark now.

France are taking no risks with Varane, who has played his first game tonight since late October.

Double change for France

OFF Varane & Dembélé

ON Konaté & Coman

Denmark change

OFF Damsgaard

ON Dolberg

Lloris! Big save!

Damsgaard's shot is saved by the France captain.

The 800 Danes are in full voice now. They've equalised just minutes after Mbappé's opener.

France 1-1 Denmark

Andersen heads the corner down into the path of Christensen, who scores his third goal for his country and Denmark are back in it!

Game on!

Lindstrom crosses to the back post. France deal with it well. Denmark have beaten France twice already this year. Can they mount a comeback today?

As things stand, France are through to the last 16.

Mbappé has his second goal of the World Cup. Giroud has been taken off so he won't break the goalscoring record today.

Marcus Thuram comes on. France lead!

France change

OFF Giroud

ON Thuram

France 1-0 Denmark

France break at devastating speed. Mbappé plays a one-two with Hernandez before scoring from eight yards.

He's through on goal but can't keep his effort down and he knows he should have at least hit the target there.

GRIEZMANN!

He needs to score there. What a chance! What a miss!

Schmeichel stops Mbappé!

Nobody else could. He goes on a mazy run but his effort is straight at Schmeichel. Mbappé is unstoppable at times. He turns Denmark inside out on this occasion. 

Braithwaite finds himself offside for Denmark. The second half has started slowly. 

Remember, if France win today, they will advance to the last 16 of the tournament. They play Tunisia in their last group game, while Denmark face Australia.

Nelsson heads Eriksen's corner back across goal. Lloris comes way off his line to claim it. 0-0

Mbappé missed Les Bleus' best chance of the first half. Giroud also had a couple of decent opportunities.

It's 8.05 pm local time in Doha so it's now getting cooler for the players. Will we see a breakthrough in this half? France had the better first-half chances but couldn't get past the Danes.

It's a like-for-like swap for Denmark. Braithwaite goes up front. 

France get us underway for the second half!

Denmark change

OFF Cornelius

ON Braithwaite

HT: France 0-0 Denmark

There's the whistle!

It has been quite enjoyable.

Mbappé hasn't enjoyed his first half. He overhits a cross this time. Denmark have a goalkick.

There will be three minutes added on!

The French fans are singing their national anthem. It is a cracker in fairness.

No side has ever beaten France three times in the same year. Could Denmark do it?

The Denmark backroom staff were up off the bench after that challenge. Nelsson is back on his feet.

Koundé picks up a yellow for catching Nelsson, who is in a lot of pain on the ground. It's a nasty one.

Denmark have rode their luck at times but if they can keep it to 0-0 until the break, they will be more than happy.

France are wasteful again. This time Mbappé blasts over.

Dembélé causes havoc on the right. He drills a low cross into Mbappé. The PSG man is all alone but shoots first time and it flies over the bar. 

Against Australia, Giroud levelled Thierry Henry to become the joint-top goalscorer for France, with both on 51 goals.

Giroud could become only the second 36 year-old (or older) to score in back-to-back World Cup appearances, after Tom Finney for England in 1958. That's one from Opta.

Dembélé switches it from right to left and Mbappé hits a volleyed cross into the box for Giroud. His header goes wide. 0-0

Cornelius scored a brace in Denmark's 2-1 win over France earlier this year.

Denmark go on the break. Cornelius buries his effort wide.

Brilliant defending by Denmark.

Schmeichel saves Griezmann's low shot and then they find a way to block Dembélé's shot. The Danes are under siege!

All the pressure is coming from Les Bleus now, who are being roared on by the French supporters in the ground.

Raph returns

Varane is back for his first game since being sidelined with an injury in late October.

Mbappé picks Koundé out at the back post. He fires it across goal but it's blocked. It remains 0-0.

Lindstrom does well to beat Hernandez, who then wins it back off the Dane. That will be an intriguing battle. 

Les Bleus have also had four shots to Denmark's zero. France have been a threat from set-pieces and crossing situations as they look to play to Giroud's strengths. Griezmann has operated between the lines.

France have just shaded the possession so far (51.3%). 

Giroud is getting some treatment after being caught on the ankle by Cornelius.

Peter Schmeichel is also here and he'll have enjoyed that save his son just made. Schmeichel junior is plying his trade with OGC Nice these days.

Rabiot!

It's an excellent stop from Schmeichel, who denies Rabiot's header.

Dembélé's cross was also excellent. 

Mbappé flies through the middle and Andreas Christensen brings him down to stop him from scoring. It could easily be a red card. The Barcelona defender gets a yellow for preventing the goalscoring opportunity.

It's brilliant play by Dembélé down the right. He does the fancy footwork and then fires a cross into the box for Giroud, who heads just wide. It was almost goal number 52 for the big striker.

Griezmann takes the corner. Varane's header is possibly going in but Maehle clears it away. 0-0

Andersen comes through the back of Mbappé. Griezmann hits a great free-kick into the box. Varane just misses the cross and France have a corner.

Hojbjerg sends a cross in from the right. Lloris comes well off his line to catch his fellow Tottenham player's ball.

Rabiot drives a pass out to Mbappé on the left. He takes it down superbly before whipping a cross into the box. Denmark clear.

We have a Mexican wave here after just seven minutes! I don't think I've ever seen one so early.

Dembélé picks it up in his own half and shows just how quick he is before releasing it. It eventually comes back to Dembélé on the edge of the box but Eriksen gets a foot in to block his effort.

Remember, Benzema is out, so it's Giroud playing through the middle, with Mbappé, Griezmann and Dembélé behind the former Arsenal man.

Tchouaméni fouls Lindstrom and Denmark have an early free.

Koundé and Varane have come into the France team. Koundé has started at right-back.

Denmark get us underway!

They're playing from right to left in the first half.

The two goalkeepers are the captains today. Lloris and Schmeichel.

France can become the first team to qualify for the World Cup 2022 knockout stages, while the Danes can neither qualify nor be eliminated. 

And now for Denmark!

It's time for the France national anthem.

There are more French fans in the ground, which looks just over 50% full.

The players are in the tunnel of Stadium 974, a stadium built from shipping containers.

Giroud to make history?

After drawing level with Thierry Henry’s record haul of 51 France goals in the thrashing of Australia, Olivier Giroud will become his country’s highest ever scorer if he finds the net against Denmark.

Eriksen: "We didn’t feel that it was particularly hot because of the air conditioning in the stadium"

Speaking ahead of Denmark’s Group D game with France, Christian Eriksen discussed the air conditioning at pitch level in Qatar:

“We’ve postponed training because of the heat. We just train later, so the heat hasn’t really been a problem. During the match, we didn’t feel that it was particularly hot because of the air conditioning in the stadium. It sounds strange in itself to say that we’re playing in an air-conditioned football stadium. [The air] felt more like it was damp, there was something about the oxygen. When you did a sprint, it was a little harder to get your breath back compared to normal, but that’s also because we’re playing here.”

France to advance?

France can become the first team to qualify for the World Cup 2022 knockout stages when they take on Denmark in Group D.

The world champions began their title defence with a 4-1 win over Australia on Tuesday. Olivier Giroud bagged a brace as Didier Deschamps’ men recovered from conceding an early Craig Goodwin goal at Al Janoub Stadium.

Denmark, meanwhile, were held to a 0-0 draw by Tunisia.

Denmark XI

France XI

Why is it called Stadium 974?

974 is the exact number of shipping containers used in the construction of the stadium.

After the World Cup, the containers and structure will be reused. 

The players are out on the pitch at the Stadium 974, doing their pre-match warm ups. Kickoff is not far away!

Eriksen is back!

Lloris: “They can change their system from one match to the other"

Denmark beat France 2-1 away in June and 2-0 at home in September in the Nations League.

“In June they had a few different players and there will be a few new (ones) tomorrow because the team may not be exactly the same as it was in June or in September but we’ve assessed those players and we of course learn from those experiences in the past but Denmark will learn from them too,” France captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris told a news conference on Friday.

“They can change their system from one match to the other and that can give us different types of difficulties.”

Varane and Koundé start for France

Raphaël Varane will start for France against Denmark after not featuring in the World Cup opener against Australia. Benjamin Pavard has dropped to the bench and has been replaced by Jules Koundé at right-back.

Varane hasn’t featured since picking up an injury with Manchester United in October.  

France XI vs Denmark

Didier Deschamps has selected the following starting XI.

Denmark XI vs France

Denmark XI: Schmeichel - Christensen, Nelsson, Andersen - Kristensen, Hojbjerg, Eriksen, Maehle - Lindstrom, Damsgaard - Cornelius.

France vs Denmark

Today's match between France and Denmark will be the fourth between the teams at a World Cup. All four matches have been in the group stages of the competition. 

The French get ready

It's likely to be France's toughest game of the group this evening as they face a strong Denmark side. We'll have all the team news from both camps as soon as it's in.

2022 WORLD CUP

Qatar 2022 World Cup: Calendar, full match schedule, groups, teams and kick-off times in the US

Paul has prepared a user-friendly guide so you can follow the action from the Gulf with all the group details, participating teams and the all-important kick-off times for fans. 

Read more

Today's World Cup fixtures

At the time of writing, Poland are playing Saudi Arabia in Group C.

Earlier in Group D, Australia recorded a 1-0 victory over Tunisia.

​​​​​​​I'll be providing you with coverage of France vs Denmark and Argentina take on Mexico in the last game of the day.

France vs Denmark: welcome!

Hello and welcome to AS USA's live coverage of this Group D match between France and Denmark.