At 9 o'clock Beijing time tonight, the second round of Group C of the Qatar World Cup between Poland and Saudi Arabia will be played at the Education City Stadium. Saudi Arabia, who beat Argentina 2-1 in the first game, failed to extend the victory, and the "West Asia Green Eagles" lost 2-0 to Poland. After assisting Zelinski's goal in the first half, Lewandowski also scored his first World Cup goal before the end of the game. Both sides created scoring chances many times, but they were either defused by the goalkeeper or turned away by crossbars and posts. Polish goalkeeper Szczesny made repeated saves in this game and also scored two consecutive penalty throws.
Teammates were excited to celebrate after Szczesny saved the penalty according to IC photo
Poland, who drew with Mexico in the first match, must fight hard to win this match against Saudi Arabia in order to take the initiative in the qualifying situation. Previously, Poland and Saudi Arabia have met a total of 3 times, Poland won all three games, but all won by one goal. The most recent meeting between the two sides came in 2006, when Polish striker Lucas Socin scored twice in Poland's 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia, when the Polish goalkeeper was legendary Liverpool goalkeeper Dudek, who liked to dance the thigh dance on penalties.
It is worth mentioning that the 32-year-old Polish midfielder Krehowiak, who started tonight, is currently playing for the Riyadh youth team in the Saudi league, and he has started eight games for the team this season and provided two goals and one assist. He is very familiar with the players of the Saudi team and can also provide some intelligence to the team.
Saudi Arabia, although they beat Argentina in the first game, also paid a heavy price. Captain Faraj was replaced after half with a calf and leg bone injury, while defender Shahrani collided with his goalkeeper due to a scrum and fractured his jaw. At present, both players have announced that they will not participate in the remaining matches of the World Cup, and the Saudi team has been weakened to a certain extent. Although the two main players are missing, the Saudi team showed a strong desire to win in today's game, and they almost suppressed the Polish team throughout the game.
After the start of the match, the Saudi team frequently threatened Poland through two wings.
In the 12th minute, Saudi Arabia attacked on the right flank and fired a shot from inside the box that Szczesny quickly lifted the ball off the crossbar. Saudi Arabia came close to scoring. Just in the 19th minute of the game, Poland, who were passive, had already received three yellow cards.
In the 38th minute, Poland broke the deadlock first, when Lewandowski picked up the goalkeeper after receiving the ball in the box, but there was no room to shoot, and returned to Zelinski at the baseline, who easily scored unguarded. It was also Lewandowski's first assist at the World Cup. Poland leads 1-0.
The Polish team celebrates victory according to Visual China
In the 43rd minute, Saudi Arabia's Saleh al-Shehri made a point, but then a penalty from Salem Dawasaari and a follow-up shot from Mohammed Black were saved by Szczesny. The Polish team escaped.
At the end of the first half, both sides received a total of five yellow cards, which shows the intensity of the game. The last time there was a half-time 5 yellow was in the 2010 World Cup final against Spain and the Netherlands.
After changing sides in the second half, the Saudi team continued to attack. The Polish team used counter-attacks to create danger.
In the 55th minute, the Polish penalty area was in a scuffle, and Szczesny made another key save to block the opponent's close-range shot. In the 62nd minute, Milik narrowly extended the score by receiving a cross from a teammate in the box and hitting the goal frame with a header.
In the 65th minute, Lewandowski had a great chance to score, his teammate crossed from the wing, and his shot that was outflanked in the box but missed the right spot, and the ball bounced towards the upright.
In the 81st minute, Lewandowski finally scored! He tackled the Saudi defender in front of the box to form a solo knife and calmly pushed in front of the goalkeeper to usher in his first World Cup goal. Lewandowski cried with emotion after the goal.
Before the end, Lewandowski had a chance to score a goal, but was saved by the opposing goalkeeper and missed twice.
In the end, with the excellent performance of Lewandowski and Szczesny, Poland defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0.
Pu Yan Red Star News reporter Jiang Shan
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