Lewandowski scores first World Cup goal in Poland win
Robert Lewandowski scored his first World Cup goal as Poland earned a crucial victory over Saudi Arabia that leaves Group C wide open.
The Barcelona striker capitalised on an error by Saudi Arabia midfielder Abdulelah Al Malki before sending a composed finish past onrushing goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais.
Lewandowski, who missed a penalty in Tuesday’s goalless draw with Mexico, was visibly emotional after ending a run of four World Cup games without finding the net.
Piotr Zielinski had given Poland a first-half lead from Lewandowski’s cutback, but Saudi Arabia were awarded a penalty five minutes later for Krystian Bielik’s foul on Saleh Al Shehri.
Wojciech Szczesny kept out Salem Al Dawsari’s effort before producing a sensational one-handed stop to prevent Mohammed Al Burayk from burying the rebound.
Saud Abdulhamid was denied by Szczesny and Al Brikan shot over the bar in the second half, while Arkadiusz Milik and Lewandowski were both denied by the woodwork as Poland sought to double their lead on the counter-attack.
Lewandowski’s late strike ended Saudi Arabia’s hopes of building on Tuesday’s remarkable victory over Argentina and boosts Poland’s chances of reaching the last 16 for the first time since 1986, when they were beaten 4-0 by Brazil in the first knockout round.
Czeslaw Michniewicz’s team need just one point against Argentina on Wednesday to qualify from Group C, while Saudi Arabia face Mexico for a place in the last 16.
Wasteful Saudi Arabia rue missed opportunities
Lewandowski will steal the headlines after breaking his World Cup duck, but Saudi Arabia will be bitterly frustrated not to have preserved their unbeaten start to the tournament in Qatar after finding Szczesny in inspired form.
Backed by a fervent and partisan crowd inside Education City Stadium, Saudi Arabia applied heavy early pressure and were denied a superb opener when the former Arsenal goalkeeper palmed Mohammed Kanno’s ferocious drive over the crossbar.
Poland looked increasingly rattled as the Green Falcons continued to swarm forward in waves, but Bielik’s goal-bound header was cleared to safety by Al Shehri before Zielinski gave them the lead with their first shot on target.
Bielik’s challenge on Al Shehri shortly before half-time initially went unpunished by referee Wilton Sampaio, but the Brazilian showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot after reviewing the incident on his pitchside monitor.
If Szczesny’s save from Al Dawsari’s spot-kick was impressive, his fingertip stop from Al Burayk’s follow-up effort was spectacular – and will take some beating at this World Cup.
There was little change to the pattern of play in the second half, with Szczesny saving at the feet of Abdulhamid and Al Brikan sending a fierce, left-footed shot over the bar.
But Poland remained a threat on the counter-attack as Milik steered a powerful header against the crossbar, before Lewandowski’s near-post flick also came back off the woodwork.
It was Al Malki’s heavy touch that ultimately proved decisive, ending Saudi Arabia’s hopes of becoming the first team in Qatar to clinch a last 16 berth.
Lewandowski could have doubled his and Poland’s tally in stoppage time, but Al Owais kept out the striker’s effort with a strong hand.
Player of the match
CashMatty Cash
Poland
-
Squad number2Player nameCash
-
Squad number1Player nameSzczesny
-
Squad number9Player nameLewandowski
-
Squad number20Player nameZielinski
-
Squad number7Player nameMilik
-
Squad number18Player nameBereszynski
-
Squad number15Player nameGlik
-
Squad number6Player nameBielik
-
Squad number13Player nameKaminski
-
Squad number10Player nameKrychowiak
-
Squad number24Player nameFrankowski
-
Squad number14Player nameKiwior
-
Squad number23Player namePiatek
Saudi Arabia
-
Squad number21Player nameMohammed Al Owais
-
Squad number23Player nameMohammed Kanno
-
Squad number9Player nameFeras Al Brikan
-
Squad number6Player nameMohammed Al Burayk
-
Squad number4Player nameAbdulelah Al Amri
-
Squad number5Player nameAli Al Bulayhi
-
Squad number11Player nameSaleh Al Shehri
-
Squad number10Player nameSalem Al Dawsari
-
Squad number16Player nameSami Al Naji
-
Squad number8Player nameAbdulelah Al Malki
-
Squad number12Player nameSaud Abdulhamid
-
Squad number18Player nameNawaf Al Abid
-
Squad number24Player nameNasser Al Dawsari
-
Squad number19Player nameHattan Bahbri
-
Squad number20Player nameAbdulrahman Al Obud
-
Squad number2Player nameSultan Al Ghannam
Line-ups
Poland
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Szczesny
- 2CashBooked at 16mins
- 14KiwiorBooked at 15mins
- 15Glik
- 18Bereszynski
- 20ZielinskiSubstituted forKaminskiat 63′minutes
- 6Bielik
- 10Krychowiak
- 24Frankowski
- 7MilikBooked at 19minsSubstituted forPiatekat 71′minutes
- 9Lewandowski
Substitutes
- 3Jedrzejczyk
- 4Wieteska
- 5Bednarek
- 8Szymanski
- 11Grosicki
- 12Skorupski
- 13Kaminski
- 16Swiderski
- 17Zurkowski
- 19Szymanski
- 21Zalewski
- 22Grabara
- 23Piatek
- 25Gumny
- 26Skóras
Saudi Arabia
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 21Al Owais
- 12Abdulhamid
- 4Al AmriBooked at 45mins
- 5Al Bulayhi
- 6Al BuraykSubstituted forAl Ghannamat 65′minutes
- 8Al Wahbi Al MalkiBooked at 21minsSubstituted forAl Obudat 85′minutes
- 9Al Brikan
- 16Al NajiSubstituted forAl Abidat 45′minutesSubstituted forBahbriat 90+5′minutes
- 23Kanno
- 10Al Dawsari
- 11Al ShehriSubstituted forAl Shardan Al Dawsariat 86′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Al Rubaie Al Yami
- 2Al Ghannam
- 3Madu
- 14Otayf
- 15Al Hassan
- 17Al Tambakti
- 18Al Abid
- 19Bahbri
- 20Al Obud
- 22Al Suweiti Al Aqidi
- 24Al Shardan Al Dawsari
- 25Asiri
- Referee:
- Wilton Pereira Sampaio
- Attendance:
- 44,259
Live Text
-
Match ends, Poland 2, Saudi Arabia 0.
-
Second Half ends, Poland 2, Saudi Arabia 0.
-
Attempt missed. Mohammed Kanno (Saudi Arabia) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Salem Al Dawsari.
-
Substitution, Saudi Arabia. Hattan Bahbri replaces Nawaf Al Abid.
-
Corner, Poland. Conceded by Abdulrahman Al Obud.
-
Corner, Poland. Conceded by Sultan Al Ghannam.
-
Attempt saved. Robert Lewandowski (Poland) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
-
Foul by Nasser Al Dawsari (Saudi Arabia).
-
Krzysztof Piatek (Poland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
-
Attempt missed. Abdulrahman Al Obud (Saudi Arabia) header from the right side of the six yard box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Nasser Al Dawsari with a cross.
-
Substitution, Saudi Arabia. Nasser Al Dawsari replaces Saleh Al Shehri.
-
Substitution, Saudi Arabia. Abdulrahman Al Obud replaces Abdulelah Al Malki.
-
Abdulelah Al Malki (Saudi Arabia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
-
Foul by Jakub Kaminski (Poland).
-
Goal! Poland 2, Saudi Arabia 0. Robert Lewandowski (Poland) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal.
-
Attempt missed. Krzysztof Piatek (Poland) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Jakub Kaminski with a cross.
-
Foul by Feras Al Brikan (Saudi Arabia).
-
Bartosz Bereszynski (Poland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
-
Attempt missed. Abdulelah Al Malki (Saudi Arabia) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
-
Foul by Sultan Al Ghannam (Saudi Arabia).
Get the latest results and goal notifications for any team at the Fifa World Cup by downloading the BBC Sport app: Apple – Android – Amazon
Get your daily dose of Fifa World Cup reaction, debate & analysis with World Cup Daily on BBC Sounds
"],p=[1,'"],d={"*":[1,"?
"],area:[1,"
"],col:[2,"
"],legend:[1,"
"],param:[1,""],tr:[2,"
"],optgroup:l,option:l,caption:u,colgroup:u,tbody:u,tfoot:u,thead:u,td:c,th:c};["circle","clipPath","defs","ellipse","g","image","line","linearGradient","mask","path","pattern","polygon","polyline","radialGradient","rect","stop","text","tspan"].forEach(function(e){d[e]=p,s[e]=!0}),e.exports=r},function(e,t,n){"use strict";var r=n(29),o=r({INSERT_MARKUP:null,MOVE_EXISTING:null,REMOVE_NODE:null,SET_MARKUP:null,TEXT_CONTENT:null});e.exports=o},function(e,t,n){"use strict";function r(){this.reinitializeTransaction()}var o=n(8),a=n(30),i=n(3),s=n(7),l={initialize:s,close:function(){d.isBatchingUpdates=!1}},u={initialize:s,close:o.flushBatchedUpdates.bind(o)},c=[u,l];i(r.prototype,a.Mixin,{getTransactionWrappers:function(){return c}});var p=new r,d={isBatchingUpdates:!1,batchedUpdates:function(e,t,n,r,o,a){var i=d.isBatchingUpdates;d.isBatchingUpdates=!0,i?e(t,n,r,o,a):p.perform(e,null,t,n,r,o,a)}};e.exports=d},function(e,t,n){"use strict";function r(e){try{e.focus()}catch(e){}}e.exports=r},function(e,t,n){"use strict";function r(e,t){return e+t.charAt(0).toUpperCase()+t.substring(1)}var o={animationIterationCount:!0,boxFlex:!0,boxFlexGroup:!0,boxOrdinalGroup:!0,columnCount:!0,flex:!0,flexGrow:!0,flexPositive:!0,flexShrink:!0,flexNegative:!0,flexOrder:!0,fontWeight:!0,lineClamp:!0,lineHeight:!0,opacity:!0,order:!0,orphans:!0,tabSize:!0,widows:!0,zIndex:!0,zoom:!0,fillOpacity:!0,stopOpacity:!0,strokeDashoffset:!0,strokeOpacity:!0,strokeWidth:!0},a=["Webkit","ms","Moz","O"];Object.keys(o).forEach(function(e){a.forEach(function(t){o[r(t,e)]=o[e]})});var i={background:{backgroundAttachment:!0,backgroundColor:!0,backgroundImage:!0,backgroundPositionX:!0,backgroundPositionY:!0,backgroundRepeat:!0},backgroundPosition:{backgroundPositionX:!0,backgroundPositionY:!0},border:{borderWidth:!0,borderStyle:!0,borderColor:!0},borderBottom:{borderBottomWidth:!0,borderBottomStyle:!0,borderBottomColor:!0},borderLeft:{borderLeftWidth:!0,borderLeftStyle:!0,borderLeftColor:!0},borderRight:{borderRightWidth:!0,borderRightStyle:!0,borderRightColor:!0},borderTop:{borderTopWidth:!0,borderTopStyle:!0,borderTopColor:!0},font:{fontStyle:!0,fontVariant:!0,fontWeight:!0,fontSize:!0,lineHeight:!0,fontFamily:!0},outline:{outlineWidth:!0,outlineStyle:!0,outlineColor:!0}},s={isUnitlessNumber:o,shorthandPropertyExpansions:i};e.exports=s},function(e,t,n){"use strict";function r(e){var t=e&&(o&&e[o]||e[a]);if("function"==typeof t)return t}var o="function"==typeof Symbol&&Symbol.iterator,a="@@iterator";e.exports=r},function(e,t,n){"use strict";function r(){if(this._rootNodeID&&this._wrapperState.pendingUpdate){this._wrapperState.pendingUpdate=!1;var e=this._currentElement.props,t=i.getValue(e);null!=t&&o(this,Boolean(e.multiple),t)}}function o(e,t,n){var r,o,a=s.getNode(e._rootNodeID).options;if(t){for(r={},o=0;o
"+n+" "),i=""+a+r;return l.default.createElement("div",null,l.default.createElement("div",{className:"gs-u-vh qa-visually-hidden-title",dangerouslySetInnerHTML:{__html:i}}),l.default.createElement("div",{className:"lx-stream-post-quote__body gs-u-mb qa-blockquote",dangerouslySetInnerHTML:{__html:t},"aria-hidden":"true"}))}return l.default.createElement("div",null,l.default.createElement("span",{className:"gs-u-vh qa-visually-hidden-title"},o),l.default.createElement("div",{className:"lx-stream-post-quote__body gs-u-mb qa-blockquote","aria-hidden":"true"},l.default.createElement("p",{dangerouslySetInnerHTML:{__html:t}})))},m=function(e){var t=e.element.children,n=e.element.name,r=(0,d.default)(n),a=c.default.findFirst(t,r.textLocator),s=e.renderChildrenToStaticMarkup(a),u=c.default.findText(t,r.sourceLocator),p=c.default.findFirst(t,r.sourceLocator),m=(0,i.default)(["lx-stream-post-quote","lx-stream-post-quote--"+r.className,"gs-u-mb-alt","gs-u-mr-alt+","gs-u-ml-alt+","gs-u-mr-alt++@m","gs-u-ml-alt++@m"]),h=(0,i.default)(["gs-u-mr","lx-stream-post-quote__icon","lx-stream-post-quote__icon--"+r.icon,"gel-icon","gel-icon-"+r.gelIconClass]),g=void 0,v=void 0;p&&p.attributes&&(g=c.default.findFirst(p.attributes,"title").value)&&(v=l.default.createElement("span",{className:"lx-stream-post-quote__cite-profession qa-blockquote-source-profession"},g));var b=void 0!==g?g:"",y=e.getTranslationFor("from"),_="string"==typeof u?y+" "+u+" "+b:"",P=e.getTranslationFor(r.hiddenTitleText)+":";return l.default.createElement("blockquote",o({},e.attributes,{className:m}),f(n,s,P,_),l.default.createElement("footer",{className:"lx-stream-post-quote__cite gel-brevier gel-brevier-bold","aria-hidden":"true"},l.default.createElement("cite",{className:"lx-stream-post-quote__cite-name qa-blockquote-source"},u),v),l.default.createElement("div",{className:h},r.iconSvg))};m.displayName="Blockquote",m.propTypes={attributes:l.default.PropTypes.object.isRequired,renderChildrenToStaticMarkup:l.default.PropTypes.func.isRequired,element:l.default.PropTypes.object.isRequired},t.default=m,e.exports=t.default},function(e,t,n){"use strict";Object.defineProperty(t,"__esModule",{value:!0});var r=n(0),o=function(e){return e&&e.__esModule?e:{default:e}}(r),a={sms:{hiddenTitleText:"sms_message",gelIconClass:"sms",icon:"mobile",className:"sms",textLocator:"smsText",sourceLocator:"smsSource",iconSvg:o.default.createElement("svg",{width:"32",height:"32",viewBox:"0 0 32 32"},o.default.createElement("path",{d:"M22 0v2H6v30h20V0h-4zm-9 28h-3v-2h3v2zm0-4h-3v-2h3v2zm0-4h-3v-2h3v2zm5 8h-4v-2h4v2zm0-4h-4v-2h4v2zm0-4h-4v-2h4v2zm4 8h-3v-2h3v2zm0-4h-3v-2h3v2zm0-4h-3v-2h3v2zm0-5H10V6h12v9z"}))},quote:{hiddenTitleText:"quote_message",gelIconClass:"quote",icon:"quote",className:"default",textLocator:"quoteText",sourceLocator:"quoteSource",iconSvg:o.default.createElement("svg",{width:"32",height:"32",viewBox:"0 0 32 32"},o.default.createElement("path",{d:"M0 17v15h15V17H7c.2-5.9 2.4-8.8 8-9.9V0C6.7 1.2.2 8.3 0 17zM32 7.1V0c-8.3 1.2-14.8 8.3-15 17v15h15V17h-8c.2-5.9 2.4-8.8 8-9.9z"}))},email:{hiddenTitleText:"email_message",gelIconClass:"email",icon:"email",className:"email",textLocator:"emailText",sourceLocator:"emailSource",iconSvg:o.default.createElement("svg",{width:"32",height:"32",viewBox:"0 0 32 32"},o.default.createElement("path",{d:"M16 19.4l16-15V3H0v26h32V8l-4 4v13H4V8.2l12 11.2zm0-2.8L5.8 7h20.4L16 16.6z"}))}},i=function(e){return a[e]||a.quote};t.default=i,e.exports=t.default},function(e,t,n){"use strict";Object.defineProperty(t,"__esModule",{value:!0});var r=Object.assign||function(e){for(var t=1;t
For all the latest world News Click Here