Poland will be bidding to reach the quarter-finals of a World Cup for the first time since 1982 when they take on world champions France in the round of 16 on Sunday.

Ahead of this tournament, their last three World Cups had come to an end in the group stage.

However, the White-Reds managed to advance to the last-16 stage of the competition by finishing second behind Argentina in Group C.

Poland are certainly the underdogs heading into this contest, but in Robert Lewandowski, they have one of the most lethal centre-forwards on the planet.

Here, Sports Mole looks at some reasons for Czeslaw Michniewicz's side to be confident of advancing to the final eight of the competition in Qatar.

The presence of Robert Lewandowski

Few nations in world football can say, with confidence, that they have a genuine world-class centre-forward, but Poland are able to call upon an elite striker in the shape of Lewandowski.

The 34-year-old had been in brilliant form for Barcelona ahead of this tournament, scoring 18 goals and registering four assists in 19 appearances in all competitions.

Meanwhile, he has scored once and provided one assist in three outings at the 2022 World Cup thus far.

Lewandowski's record for Poland is brilliant considering that he is not playing for a so-called elite European side, finding the back of the net on 77 occasions in 137 appearances, and he is certainly capable of carrying his side to victory on Sunday afternoon.

Poland will need to improve their output in the final third, though, as they have only had five shots on target in the competition thus far, with three of those coming from Lewandowski.

Beat France in only meeting at the finals of a World Cup

Poland have only won three of their 16 games against France throughout history, but they did overcome the Blues in their only previous meeting in the finals of a World Cup.

The two sides locked horns in the third-place playoff back in 1982, and it was Poland that recorded a 3-2 victory courtesy of goals from Andrzej Szarmach, Stefan Majewski and Janusz Kupcewicz.

Poland lost 2-0 to Italy in the semi-finals that particular year, while France were beaten on penalties by West Germany, which led to the two sides meeting to determine who would finish third.

There is no getting away from the fact that France have enjoyed the better of their recent meetings, with their last clash, which was in June 2011, bringing a 1-0 victory for the Blues in a friendly.

Poland can draw inspiration from their World Cup success over their fellow European nation, though, as they bid to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Form of Wojciech Szczesny

Poland will need a brilliant team performance if they are to overcome France, but the form of their goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is likely to be key when it comes to their chances.

The Juventus stopper incredibly has a 90% save percentage at the World Cup, keeping clean sheets in his first two appearances at the competition against Mexico and Saudi Arabia before conceding against Argentina.

Alexis Mac Allister's goal for Lionel Scaloni's side actually ended an impressive run of saves for Szczesny, who had kept out the first 16 shots on target he had faced in the tournament.

The goalkeeper has also saved penalties in his last two appearances against Saudi Arabia and Argentina, and his ability to keep out spot kicks could be crucial if the match goes all the way to a penalty shootout.

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