Poland vs Saudi Arabia FIFA World Cup Live Score 26/11/2022
Saudi Arabia’s Green Falcons will be hoping to reach new heights when they lock horns with Poland on Saturday at Education City Stadium. The Green Falcons caused a seismic shock across the footballing world when they beat one of the tournament’s favourites, Argentina, who were led by seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi. Tuesday’s historic upset led Saudi King Salman to announce a snap public holiday for workers in the public and private sectors, as well as students in the kingdom, in celebration of the win.
Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 victory against the reigning COPA America champions and third-ranked team in the FIFA standings is among the biggest shock results in the 92-year-old history of the competition. Before Tuesday’s historic win, Saudi Arabia, ranked 51, had only recorded three wins at a World Cup. It was also the first time that the Green Falcons won their opening match at the world’s biggest footballing spectacle.
The confidence-boosting win may provide the required boost for the team to extend their hot streak when they meet the Poles. But the team’s French coach Herve Renard has called on his players to remain focused on the task ahead. “Our celebrations in the dressing room lasted only 20 minutes or less,” Renard told reporters after the match. “We have two more games and we have to concentrate on those. The players have worked very hard and always maintained good team spirit, never complaining. Now they just need to keep their feet on the ground,” he added.
Ahead of them stands Poland and Barcelona’s goal-poacher Robert Lewandowski – the 2020 FIFA Men’s Player of the Year. Team captain and talisman, Lewandowski missed a penalty in the team’s first match against Mexico which ended in a nil-nil draw. If the Red and White are to progress, Lewandowski, who has more than 600 career goals for club and country, needs to find his scoring touch again. If they are to progress from the group, which also includes South American heavyweights Argentina, the Poles will need a positive result this time.
Saudi Arabia were responsible for the first upset of FIFA World Cup 2022 on November 22, when they stunned Argentina in their first match. Even a draw in this match will likely secure a spot in the knockout round for the second time since 1994. Poland, which have been taking part in FIFA world cups since 1938, are considered one of the most formidable teams.
In the encounter against La Albiceleste, the odds were against the Green Falcons, and they will be again when they take on Poland in their second match. Herve Renard’s side have lost nine of their 10 World Cup games against European opponents, including the last eight straight, so history is not on their side. But, almost enjoying home advantage in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia will get into the field to change a lot of things in their history book.
Poland were given the chance to steal all three points against Mexico. However, Robert Lewandowski’s penalty was stopped by an outstanding save by Guillermo Ochoa. They would be able to revive their chances of moving on to the knockout rounds with a victory. In this match, full-backs Nicola Zalewski and Matty Cash are expected to play much more aggressively in an effort to take advantage of Saudi Arabia’s potentially dangerous attacks.
Poland take on surprise group leaders Saudi Arabia on Saturday, in a crucial battle for qualification in World Cup 2022 Group C. Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty as the Bialo-czerwoni drew 0-0 to Mexico in Tuesday’s opener, while their opponents beat Argentina to pull off one of the greatest World Cup upsets in living memory.
Following an uninspiring, perhaps overly-cautious first 45 minutes at Stadium 974 on Tuesday, Poland were presented with a golden opportunity to snatch all three points against Mexico, as their talisman Lewandowski was wrestled to the ground in the penalty area by Hector Moreno. World Cup hero Guillermo Ochoa was there to deny the country’s record goalscorer, however, as the Barcelona forward failed to convert from 12 yards for the second time this month.
Racking up just 0.04 expected goals in the first half, and 0.14 throughout the whole game aside from the penalty, Czeslaw Michniewicz’s side will feel that this was a missed opportunity against a side that they would have been expecting to compete with for that second qualification spot, particularly after favourites Argentina dropped unlikely points. If Poland are to stand any chance of progressing, a victory is vitally important here, and they will have to be on their toes against a high-pressing Saudi Arabia side, who will still be riding the wave of their greatest ever victory.
Salem Al-Dawsari’s spectacular winning goal on Tuesday will go down in World Cup folklore, as the 31-year-old’s sensational curling finish condemned Argentina to their first defeat in 36 outings. Herve Renard’s side impressed with their bold style of play, incorporating a dangerously high and aggressive line, springing the offside trap an incredible 10 times.
In the middle, Mohamed Kanno played the role of midfield enforcer almost perfectly, while the Hassan Al Tambakti put in a heroic performance in the centre of defence. With three points already secured, another result here would put them well on their way to a first run to the knockout stages since 1994.
For Poland, both Krystian Bielik and Bartosz Bereszynski were confirmed to have been carrying knocks since Tuesday by the manager, but both should be fit and available here. In desperate need of points, there is a chance that we will see extra firepower in the form of Arkadiusz Milik brought in from the start.
As for Saudi Arabia, full-back Yasser Al-Shahrani was reportedly flown home from the World Cup after successful jaw surgery, following a horror collision with his own goalkeeper late on in Tuesday’s famous win. As a result, we are likely to see Mohammed Al-Burayk in from the start, in an otherwise very familiar side to the one that shocked the footballing world just four days ago.
We’re expecting an entertaining 90-minutes between one nation that will be buzzing and the other that really need a win following a bore draw in the first round of fixtures. Both teams scored when Saudi Arabia and Poland met back in 2006 and three of the Arab country’s last six outings have ended the same way, including that shock 2-1 win over Argentina. Lewandoski will be hoping to have more support in this game after Poland seemed to play for a draw against Mexico and the onus will be on the Europeans to take the game to their opponents as Saudi Arabia would probably be happy with a draw.
We’ve backed at least three goals to be scored in this game, just as they were when these two sides last met. Poland will have to play more attacking on matchday 2 as this is a game they really have to win as their last match is against the group favourites, Argentina. Saudi Arabia have already proved itself to be an attacking side after they beat Argentina 2-1 with two very well-taken goals but they will give Poland chances to score and with Lewandowski up-front, that usually means goals for Poland.
Event details:
NAME: Poland – Saudi Arabia
DATE: 26 Nov 2022
TIME: 13:00 UTC
VENUE: Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar
Leave a Reply