France is officially headed for the knockout rounds while Peru will settle for group stage elimination with a loss on Thursday.
A scrappy goal from Kylian Mbappe pushed France past Peru in a 1-0 win on Thursday. After topping Australia in their opener, France booked their spot in the Round of 16 with a win while the 0-2 Peru team cannot advance.
The goal wasn’t a pretty one as Mbappe and France took advantage of a turnover. Paul Pogba intercepted the ball 30 yards from goal and fed Olivier Giroud with a nice through ball into the left side of the box. Giroud’s attempt was deflected and landed at the boot of Kylian Mbappe, who finished to become the youngest French scorer at the World Cup.
Paolo Guerrero had a golden opportunity to put Peru ahead late in the first half, but he came up empty with his attempt and France went down the field and made the South American side pay for its lack of finishing.
Peru then produced plenty of pressure in the second half, and its best chance came from Pedro Aquino, who struck the top left part of the crossbar with his shot from distance.
France wraps up the group stage against Denmark while Peru will face off with Australia in their final group match.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Highly criticized and always a center of attention, Paul Pogba put in a much-improved shift to help lead a strong performance from the France midfield.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Kylian Mbappe provided the only goal needed to lift France past Peru.
MATCH TO FORGET
Paulo Guerrero failed to finish Peru’s best chance and turned the ball over on what turned out to be the game-deciding goal.