Mbappe and Lewandowski train as France and Poland prepare for World Cup showdown

Les Bleus continue their title defence with a last 16 encounter at Al Thumama Stadium

Kylian Mbappe attends a France training session at Al Sadd SC Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on December 3 2022 ahead of the 2022 World Cup last 16 match against Poland. EPA

Kylian Mbappe attends a France training session at Al Sadd SC Stadium. EPA

France's forward Kylian Mbappe (L) and France's forward Antoine Griezmann (R) speak together as they attend a training session at the Al Sadd SC training center in Doha, on December 3, 2022, on the eve of the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between France and Poland. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe and head coach Didier Deschamps during the training session. EPA

Hugo Lloris eyes the ball during a France training session at the Al Sadd SC. AFP

Didier Deschamps and assistant coach Guy Stephan speak to each other as Ousmane Dembele, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jules Kounde and Kylian Mbappe walk past them during a training session. AFP

Antoine Griezmann takes part in a training session at Al Sadd SC. AFP

Theo Hernandez attends a training session with France teammates at Al Sadd SC. AFP

Robert Lewandowski and Kamil Grosicki attend a Poland training session at Al Kharaitiyat SC. Reuters

Poland players jog during a training session at Al Kharaitiyat SC. Reuters

Arkadiusz Milik and Grzegorz Krychowiak take part in a training session at Al Kharaitiyat SC. AFP

Robert Lewandowski attends a Poland training session at Al Kharaitiyat SC. Reuters

Robert Lewandowski and his Poland teammates take part in a training session. AFP

Poland's players attend a training session at Al Kharaitiyat SC. AFP

Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny takes part in a training session at Al Kharaitiyat SC. AFP

Jakub Kiwior and his Poland teammates during a training session at Al Kharaitiyat SC. Reuters

France manager Didier Deschamps insists there is more to Poland than Robert Lewandowski as both teams prepare to face each other in the 2022 World Cup last 16 on Sunday.

Barcelona striker Lewandowski is undoubtedly Poland's star man and chief threat, but in Wojciech Szczesny - who has already saved two penalties in Qatar - they have an elite-level goalkeeper, while the team's compact style can make them difficult to break down.

"They've had to defend a lot in the group stage and they defended very well. Actually they love it, but they're not just a defensive team - just look at who they have up front," Deschamps said

"But there's more. They have a backbone of players with great international experience, with Kamil Glik, Piotr Zieliński, Grzegorz Krychowiak and some youngsters who have shown they were up to the task. They deserve to be here."

France, led by the seemingly unstoppable Kylian Mbappe, will be strong favourites to progress to the quarter-finals but Poland manager Czeslaw Michniewicz has said his team fears no one - even suggesting that if Poland can shock World Cup holders France, they could go all the way.

"We were not ready to go home," said Michniewicz, who only took over the Poland job in January after the departure of Paulo Sousa. "If we win against France we could become the next world champions.

"We're very happy to play the world champions. France are not already guaranteed to advance. Everything's to play for, you win or go home and the stakes are high."

Ahead of the all-or-nothing encounter at Al Thumama Stadium, France and Poland players took to the pitches at Al Sadd SC Stadium and Al Kharaitiyat SC respectively for one final training session.

Check out the photos from those training sessions in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.