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World Cup result: How Poland beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 to move to the top of Group C
Summary
Goals from Piotr Zielinski and Robert Lewandowski secured Poland a 2-0 win against Saudi Arabia in the second round of Group C matches at the 2022 World Cup. That results sees the group nicely poised and means Argentina will exit the tournament if they lose to Mexico later today.
Background reading
- Poland vs Saudi Arabia preview
- World Cup fixtures and results
- World Cup standings
- How the World Cup groups are decided
(Photo: Getty Images)
Robert Lewandowski on his goal
He said: "Let me start from the beginning because I felt so many emotions when I was singing the national anthem. It’s difficult to explain why my emotions were so strong today but I have been dreaming about this since I was a child. And then you think about the importance of the goal. It was just a dream come true. We actually made several good opportunities and I could have scored more but it was a great result. We have another big match to play, of course, and we’ll have to see what the other result is.
"When you play for the national team you have to focus on the result but it’s true that I have always wanted to score in the World Cup. But it’s not easy. We didn’t create many chances in the first half and then I didn’t score the penalty.
"I changed my boots because of the pitch. I just wanted more traction. There’s no big story.
"I think the older I get the more emotional I get. I have always wanted to score at a World Cup just to really underline that I played at a World Cup. I don’t always focus on personal statistics, the team result is the most important thing, but sometimes the two things merge."
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Herve Renard's reaction to the game
The Saudi Arabia manager said: "I’m proud of my team. We were supposed to manage the game better, especially by getting back to 1-1 at half-time. I’m sure it would have changed a lot. But we were not efficient against a strong team. They were a lot of duels and they played some long balls. The key is to to be realistic with your opportunities. But we are still alive and we will keep playing until the last second of our World Cup, we won’t give up.
"When you are a coach, if you are happy after they won the first game, you have to support them when they lose the second.
"We didn’t lose because we were unlucky; we lost today because we were not efficient. Almalki made a mistake for the second goal but I have to support my players. That’s how I’ve managed all my teams. It’s too easy to shout at them when they make mistakes but you have to build them up and support them.
"The most important thing is we are still alive and we’ll play the third game with the same energy. Do you know what we need? The fans. I hope they come in the same numbers. They were superb. I would like to see a green stadium. I think we’ll be wearing white but it doesn’t matter. Green and white is fine. I really hope they support the players again but they deserve it.
"Poland have three fantastic players in their side: Szczesny, Zielinski and Lewandowski. But nobody has just discovered Szczesnhy today. Congratulations to him, he won the game and we didn’t have success against him. But the last game our keeper did the same. This is football.
"I could talk about Robert Lewandowski for an hour. The way he controls the ball, his movement, he’s one of the best strikers in the world."
Poland showed their experience
After the high of earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia produced another good display and were the better side for periods.
Poland eventually composed themselves and once they got ahead, controlled and managed the game well.
An important three points for them.
All to play for in this group.
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Man of the Match
A simple choice and it is the Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny who is my man of the match.
It was his incredible double save at the end of the first half, first from the penalty spot and then the follow-up, which kept Poland in the lead.
Two clean sheets and nine saves, the most of any goalkeeper in the tournament is not a bad way to start the competition.
Saudi frustrations
It has not been Saudi Arabia's day but there are positives to take from their performances. They were the better side in the second half and early in the second period but began to run out of steam.
They scored two goals from three shots against Argentina but could not find the net from their fifteen efforts today.
A "horror show"
Abdulelah Almalki horror show. Poor fella. Shades of Steven Gerrard's clanger against Chelsea about it. Last man, a loose touch, a desperate lunge and then a one-on-one for for the opposition striker. I don't remember Liverpool immediately hooking Gerrard, though. That was Almalki's last touch in this game. And while I type this, Lewandowski has just spurned a one-on-one chance. He surged into the box but went for a dink over the keeper. Good save.
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