The Group C second round match between Saudi Arabia and Poland on November 26 drew a lot of attention.
Due to Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 comeback victory over Argentina in the first round. Saudi Arabia will thus be the first team to qualify for the Qatar World Cup if they win this match.
Saudi Arabia dominated the first half of their match against Poland, but were eventually defeated. When Saudi Arabia was given a penalty, Wojciech Szczesny of Poland used his strength to make a string of saves. Szczesny battled against all odds in the second half to save Poland from a Saudi siege. Levan also scored his first goal at the World Cup. After two games, Poland defeated Saudi Arabia with the score of 2-0 to earn four points.
The Saudis have a large number of fans at the stadium, the Education City Stadium in Rayan, as they are the closest country to Qatar. When the team taking photo before the match, goalkeeper Alowaiz also held up his teammate Shahrani’s shirt. In the last match, Alovais kneed accidentally Shahrani.
Shahrani’s World Cup campaign has been cut short early due to facial and jaw injuries. He was flown to Germany for medical care by a private jet sent by the Saudi crown prince. Saudi Arabia used this method to demonstrate its unity before the game.
With 60% of the ball possession in the first 20 minutes, the Saudis were unquestionably the more threatening team. Poland had to make more aggressive moves to defeat their adversaries.
Poland’s players were shown two yellow cards in the 14th and 15th minutes, and a third in the 18th, marking the first time a team was booked three times in the first 20 minutes of a World Cup since Italy faced off against Mexico in 2002.
“I always wondered if they would be able to carry on what they did on the pitch, but they certainly show no signs of weakening,” said Pat Nevin, a former Scotland winger, who was astounded by Saudi Arabia’s impressive performance.
Additionally, he added: “Poland get frustrated when a team is quicker, sharper, and more capable; they appear clumsy and can offer quite limited positives to the match.”
Levan provided the assist and Jelinski scored. Lewandowski did not appear impressive until he assisted his teammates in breaking the tie; prior to that, he had struggled to make an impact in his previous four World Cup contests. Levan attempted 11 shots, four of which were on target during the three World Cup games from the previous year, but neither he nor any of his teammates were able to score or provide an assist.
The team’s top scrum-half even missed a crucial penalty against Mexico in particular, but this time Lewan was able to contribute an assist. Lewan inspired his teammates to break the tie, but Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny played a crucial role in ensuring victory for his team.
Bielik fouled Shehri after he broke into the penalty area in the 44th minute. Davasari’s penalty kick and Blake’s subsequent follow-up were both saved by Szczesny. The last Polish goalkeeper to save a penalty kick at a World Cup was Tomaszewski, who made two stops against West Germany in 1974. Szczesny is only the second goalkeeper from Poland to do so. Szczesny has also completed a different Grand Slam by stopping penalties in every match he has competed in, including the World Cup, Champions League, Italian Super Cup, Premier League, and Serie A.
Pat Nevin advised Saudi Arabia not to lose heart at the half because they were the superior team in the first stanza. He pointed to the Saudi coach, Rene, who made an impressive half-time speech after the victory over Argentina, hoping that the team would continue to gain momentum at half-time.