Saudi Arabia already secured the shock of the World Cup, but the Green Falcons couldn’t spring a second, at least not yet.
Fresh off beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina, the Saudis were out to take down another world player of the year when when facing Robert Lewandowski and Poland in the second game of play in Group C. But the Barcelona star finally scored the first World Cup goal of his career to double the lead in a 2–0 win, after Piotr Zieliński’s goal and Wojciech Szczęsny’s save of a penalty kick had given the Poles control.
Poland, and Lewandowski especially, were feeling the heat to perform, considering the star had a penalty kick of his own saved vs. Mexico in a moment that could have altered the side’s World Cup fate. The Saudis, meanwhile were eyeing another three points to finish off what initially seemed like a highly unlikely bid to reach the knockout stage for the world’s 51st-ranked side. In five previous World Cup appearances, Saudi Arabia has made the last 16 once, back in 1994. Instead, it’s Poland that rises to first place in the group, while Saudi Arabia waits to see where it will fall following Argentina and Mexico’s match later in the day.
Before the game, Saudi Arabia honored one of its own, sending a message to teammate Yasser Al Shahrani, who was stretchered off in the win over Argentina and needed pancreatic gland surgery as a result.
As for the game, Saudi Arabia came out the more aggressive of the two, with a couple of forays into Poland’s box signaling an intent not just to sit back and absorb but to be the enforcer of the two sides.
Another push forward resulted in the first corner kick of the game in the eighth minute, but the inswinging service from the far corner was cleared, and Salem Al-Dawsari’s follow-up cross veered off course and to safety for the Poles.
That pressure paid off with the first chance on frame in the 13th minute, as Szczęsny was forced into an acrobatic, reflex save to rob Mohamed Kanno of the opener.
Poland took 25 minutes to generate its first moment of true danger, and it came off a set piece, as Krystian Bielik’s bullet header was blocked by Saleh Al Shehri before it could reach the goal. Goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Owais, one of the heroes vs. Argentina, appeared to have it covered, anyway.
There was nothing Al-Owais could do about a blast from Zieliński, though, with the European side going ahead in the 39th minute on what was Poland’s first shot on target of the half. The pressure came from Matty Cash on the right-hand side, as the Aston Villa fullback’s cross was not fully dealt with by Al-Owais. Lewandowski chased down the loose ball and fed Zieliński, who made no mistake with his first-time finish.
That lead almost evaporated instantly after Saudi Arabia was granted a penalty following VAR review, but Al-Dawsari was denied by a diving Szczęsny, who then made himself big to get a deflection on the follow-up shot off the rebound, which sailed over the bar.
Szczęsny came up big again 10 minutes into the second half, with Poland unable to clear after an extended sequence inside its box. It wound up with Al-Dawsari having a look from in close, but the goalkeeper cut off the angle and made the block.
Poland came inches from doubling its lead in the 63rd minute, when Arkadiusz Milik rattled the crossbar with a powerful header from close range. It then hit the post through Lewandowski, whose awkward redirect clanged off the right side of the woodwork.
The Saudis, meanwhile, kept pushing for the equalizer and came close to pulling level in the 78th minute. After a brilliant bit of dribble down the left, Saudi Arabia forced Poland into some desperate clearance attempts, but the ball found its way to the top of the box, where Abdulelah Al Malki curled his low chance just wide of the right post.
Poland finished off the result four minutes later, and it came through Lewandowski. The Barcelona striker pounced on an awful turnover in the back and made no mistake with his chance, making it 2–0 and giving Poland some breathing room.
