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Match 51
France v Poland
France come into this game off the back of a 1-0 loss to Tunisia after fielding an almost completely different starting 11 with qualification assured. With a lot of the squad rested, they will look to start strong against Poland and they appear to have the attacking players to overcome almost any defensive setup.
Giroud has the chance to become France's all-time highest goal scorer, and along with star man Mbappe and Dembele, Les Bleus should be able to get on the scoresheet at least once. Lloris can be questionable in goal but it's hard to see Poland getting past the French midfield and defenders in order to win this match.
Poland just managed to scrape through the group stage by goal difference after a convincing defeat at the hands of Argentina. They may need to reassess their tactics and play more attacking football to create chances for prolific striker Lewandowski, but this will leave them vulnerable to a rapid French front line. It will be tricky to get the balance right between playing expansive or compact, but if Poland want to progress they'll need to find a solution. The alternative would be to park the bus and play for penalties - a valid approach if they can pull it off.
Match 52
England v Senegal
England got through their group comfortably but not without a few questions being asked by an energetic USA team. They are coming off the back of a dominant 3-0 win over Wales and should be confident they overcome a Mane-less Senegal side, but shouldn't underestimate the reigning African champions. England tied Spain for the most goals scored in the group stage but they can play passively at times - they'll need to make sure they play forward and not just sideways to get their impressive attacking talent involved. Rashford, Saka, and Foden all look to be in fine form, and so far the defensive partnership of Stones and Maguire has been solid.
Senegal came through second in Group A but played some of the best football - being without Mane is a loss but they've shown that they are still a complete footballing outfit. Senegal will be slight underdogs but have the means to upset England if they can apply a press and get the ball to Sarr and Dia up top, while Chelsea stars Mendy and Koulibaly offer defensive strength at the back. Senegal are AFCON champions for a reason and will believe they can progress.
