JWSport Jacek Waszak – Sport journalist
Lewandowski’s missed penalty has something to think about .Surely he also has an underachievement . The Poles have so far appeared at three World Cups, each ending in the group stage and with one win. In 2002 at the tournament in Korea and Japan we beat the United States 3:1, in 2006 in Germany we beat Costa Rica 2:1 and 2018 in Russia we beat Japan 1:0.
Mexico’s most successful World Cups were in 1970 and 1986, when it hosted the World Cup. Back then, it was able to advance to the quarter-finals. It is currently on a run of playing in the 1/8 finals – since 1994, it has reached this stage of the competition each time.
The Poles will approach this match after a recent 1-0 victory in a friendly against Chile. The only goal in this meeting was scored for our national team by Krzysztof Piątek
Mexico – Poland in Group C of the Qatar 2022 World Cup took place on Tuesday 22 November.
The Polish national team came very close to going into the lead in the meeting with Mexico. First, after a VAR decision and a foul on Robert Lewandowski, the red and white were awarded a penalty kick, which Robert Lewandowski i…. hit straight at Guillermo Ochoa.
If you’re playing at a World Cup tournament and you draw 0:0 and don’t take a penalty, you always feel unsatisfied. These things happen in sport. These are huge emotions. It was a close match. The result determined certain behaviours on the pitch. Mexico didn’t create too many situations. There was a lot of passing. We blocked their certain plays. We waited for our chance. It’s a shame about that penalty kick. There were a few more moments where we could have played the ball more calmly in the penalty area, but unfortunately it didn’t work out
In the 58th minute, Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty kick – his shot was defended by Guillermo Ochoa.
However, Polish footballers can console themselves that they did not lose their first World Cup match in the 21st century. In 2002, 2006 and 2018 they failed to do so, which was later of great importance in the context of the – unsuccessful – fight for the 1/8 finals.
At the same time, it was the fourth time in history that the red and white tied the first meeting of the World Cup without a goal. It was identical in 1978, 1982 and 1986 – at that time they came out of the group each time.
The Mexicans also dominated, especially in the first half. That Martino’s charges would be on the ball more often was to be expected. On the other hand, Polish fans probably imagined the game of the red and white team a little differently. Michniewicz’s charges did not create any threatening opportunities in the first half, and did not take a single accurate shot.
The Mexicans, meanwhile, threatened Szczęsny’s goal a few times. In the 26th minute, Alexis Vega tried, but the ball after his head strike narrowly missed the left post of Szczesny’s goal. Just before the break, the Polish goalkeeper, albeit with problems, defended Jorge Sanchez’s shot.
In the second half, the red-and-whites moved forward a little more boldly, but still nothing came of it. There was a lack of composed actions and shots.
In the 58th minute it seemed that luck smiled on Michniewicz’s charges. In a fierce scramble for the ball in the penalty area, Lewandowski and Hector Moreno fell to the turf. At first, Australian referee Chris Beath did not react, but then he got a VAR signal, watched the situation on video and dictated an ‘eleven’, noticing the Pole’s pull on his shirt.
The performer was traditionally Lewandowski. The captain of the red and white team shot towards the left post of Guillermo Ochoa’s goal, but the experienced goalkeeper deflected the ball.
It was the 34-year-old striker’s second consecutive missed penalty kick, having previously failed in Barcelona’s league match against Almeria on 5 November.
On the other hand, in the national team Lewandowski last failed to take an ‘eleven’ on 7 September 2010 in a friendly match against Australia (1:2) in Krakow.
Ochoa, for whom this is the fifth World Cup of his career, became the first Mexican goalkeeper since 1966 to defend an ‘eleven’ in a World Cup in regular time.
However, this situation changed little on the pitch. The red-and-whites still had trouble constructing threatening actions. And still Szczęsny had to be vigilant.
In the 64th minute, Henry Martin hit a clever header, but the Juventus Turin goalkeeper showed off a great intervention. His defensive colleagues also deserved words of praise.
In added time, Ochoa defended Jakub Kaminski’s shot and Grzegorz Krychowiak’s strike from distance was off target. All in all, however, with the exception of the penalty, the red and white did not have a very threatening situation in this encounter.
“It was a close match,” – admitted right after the final whistle, coach Michniewicz.
The balance of Poland’s direct matches against Mexico, nine so far, is therefore still even. Both teams have won three times each and there has been a draw three times.
Earlier on Tuesday, there was a huge surprise in Group C – Argentina, considered the favourites, lost to Saudi Arabia 1:2. The red and white will play their next match on 26 November against table leader Saudi Arabia.
Instead, in the first match of Group C, Saudi Arabia unexpectedly won against Argentina 2:1.
Group C Saudi Arabia – Argentina 2:1.
Group C: Mexico – Poland 0:0.
Yellow card – Mexico: Jorge Sanchez, Hector Moreno. Poland: Przemyslaw Frankowski.
Mexico: Guillermo Ochoa – Jorge Sanchez, Hector Moreno, Cesar Montes, Jesus Gallardo – Edson Alvarez, Hector Herrera (71. Carlos Rodriguez), Luis Chavez – Hirving Lozano, Henry Martin (71. Raul Jimenez), Alexis Vega (84. Uriel Antuna).
Poland: Wojciech Szczęsny – Matty Cash, Kamil Glik, Jakub Kiwior, Bartosz Bereszynski – Jakub Kaminski, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Piotr Zielinski (87. Arkadiusz Milik), Sebastian Szymanski (71. Przemyslaw Frankowski), Nicola Zalewski (46. Krystian Bielik) – Robert Lewandowski.
