France know full well there is more to Poland than Lewandowski
Lewandowski is indeed a deadly weapon up front, but Poland are a very compact side with another major asset at the other end of the pitch in keeper Wojciech Szczesny, who has already stopped two penalties.
Across his career, Szczesny has saved 26 of 87 penalties and it is safe to say that France will be desperate to avoid a shootout at the Al Thumama stadium on Sunday.
"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," coach Didier Deschamps told a news conference on Saturday.
"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."
Poland have only had five shots on target in three games, but three of them came from Lewandowski, who only needs half a chance to find the back of the net.
France's ideal scenario will be to contain the Barcelona forward and avoid ending the game on penalties, which are certainly not keeper Hugo Lloris's cup of tea.
Lloris, who will equal Lilian Thuram's France record of 142 caps on Sunday, has only stopped 16 of the 108 spot kicks he has faced in his career, a shortcoming that cost France dearly at the European championship last year when they were bundled out in the last 16 by Switzerland on penalties.
"We've been looking into penalties with the analysts but there is a psychological factor that comes into play, and also how the penalties are taken," the France captain said.
Lloris added, however, that France had what it takes to down Poland in regulation time if they stay focused throughout.
"Some keepers are better at (penalties) but if we're fully focused from start to finish, we have the weapons to win it before we get there," he said.
"We need to have that killer instinct."
Incidentally, Lloris, who began his international career a few months after Lilian Thuram hung up his boots, on Sunday will match the great defender's record of 142 caps.
Thuram's career with Les Bleus ended on a bitter note, in a 4-1 defeat against the Netherlands in the group phase of Euro 2008, where France failed to make it into the quarter-finals.
The soft-spoken Lloris will not be making any fuss about matching Thuram's record, however, as he focuses on helping France secure a spot in the last eight in Qatar.
"It's no mean feat, I'm very honoured and proud of these numbers, even if on the eve of a World Cup Round of 16, this is obviously secondary," the Tottenham Hotspur keeper, who has spent 12,866 minutes between the posts for France, told a news conference.
"For me, this competition comes first and I want to save all my energy for tomorrow's game because we have a new battle ahead of us and we will need all our strength.
"That's something I would definitely appreciate more once the competition is over, hopefully in the best way."
Lloris, who has been in the starting lineup in all his appearances for France, has also captained the team a record 118 times and kept a clean sheet on 61 occasions - another France record - and was key in their 2018 World Cup winning campaign.
Coach Didier Deschamps comes second having worn the skipper's armband 54 times.
"Records are bound to be broken. Hugo will equal that of 'Tutu'. They are both exemplary players, great professionals, who have maintained themselves at a very, very high level," said Deschamps.
"All records have a meaning, some are perhaps more insignificant than others. This one speaks for itself, because of the number of appearances it represents for years and years at the highest level."