Kazakhstan 0-2 France: 5 talking points as world champions eke out unconvincing win | 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

#3 France's poor record from the spot continues

Mbappe's penalty miss was France's fourth in their last seven attempts.

They might be world champions, but France's record from the penalty spot has been chequered of late.

Coming into the match, France had missed half of their last six attempts from 12 yards. On the night, Kylian Mbappe fluffed one too.

The Paris Saint-Germain ace, who had come off the bench, had a golden chance to open his account for 2021 after being fouled inside the area by Kazakh defenders.

However, their goalkeeper Aleksandr Mokin guessed the right way to deny Mbappe from the spot.

Antoine Griezmann, who was the culprit for all the previous three spot-kick misses, wasn't on the field for this one. But Mbappe ensured that France's penalty woes continued.

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#4 Kazakhstan get caught on the break

The Hawks were hit on the break numerous times by France.

Kazakhstan are arguably the weakest side in Group D, but they showed the potential to cause an upset against France.

They sat deep to block all passing lanes, while goalkeeper Aleksandr Mokin was an indomitable presence between the sticks, also keeping out a penalty.

One downside in this unit, however, is their propensity to get caught out in counter-attacking.

Struggling to carve out opportunities from open play, France found a way to hit the Hawks. And only a lack of cutting edge - and some desperate, last-ditch tackles - kept them from extending their lead.

Kazakhstan can also count themselves lucky to have finished the match with 11 men on the field. On some other day, they could've had a few red cards.

However, the situation of making desperate defending won't come up if they don't leave so much gap at the back for opponents to exploit on the break.

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#5 Anthony Martial's injury a cause of concern for Manchester United?

Anthony Martial suffered a knock to his knee in the match.

Anthony Martial was having an excellent outing for France, assisting Dembele's opener with a superb cross.

However, the Manchester United star's evening came to a premature end after limping off with an apparent injury in the second half. He went down under a challenge from Maliy inside the box and, following some treatment on the sidelines, continued to play.

But he lasted just seven more minutes, and Martial was eventually taken off for Mbappe, probably as a precautionary measure.

More developments about his condition can be expected in the coming hours, but the Red Devils will hope there's nothing serious.

As the club season enters its home stretch, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will need Martial, with their sights fixed on clinching the Europa League.