AL RAYYAN, Qatar, (Reuters) – An emotional Robert Lewandowski scored his first World Cup goal as Poland brought Saudi Arabia back down to earth with a bump yesterday with a 2-0 Group C victory that rejuvenated their tournament campaign.
Poland’s record scorer, who missed a penalty in their opening stalemate with Mexico and drew a blank in Russia four years ago, was visibly moved after finally finding the net, wiping his eyes as team mates piled on top of him.
The striker had pounced on a mistake in the 82nd minute to double Poland’s advantage after Piotr Zielinski had given them a first-half lead at the Education City Stadium.
After completing one of the tournament’s greatest ever shocks when they cut Argentina down to size in their opener, the Saudis, who missed a first-half penalty, found Poland a tougher nut to crack.
The win moved Poland to four points, one more than Saudi Arabia, and left them needing a draw in their final game against Argentina next Wednesday to guarantee their spot in the knockouts.
The performance was also a great improvement from their opener against Mexico, when coach Czeslaw Michniewicz had faced scrutiny for an over-cautious approach.
“Only together we can succeed,” he told reporters. “The result will sweeten everything, when you win everything hurts less.”
Saudi Arabia, the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament, will head into their final match against Mexico with all still to play for, while Argentina play Mexico later on Saturday.
“We are still alive, we didn’t lose because we weren’t lucky, we lost because we weren’t efficient,” Saudi coach Herve Renard said.
It was effectively a home match for the Saudis with their raucous fans, who had made the short journey across the border, far outnumbering their Polish counterparts.
Their team gave them plenty to shout about too in the early stages as they were by far the more ambitious, pressing high against the Poles, who seemed lethargic in comparison.
