Robert Lewandowski breaks World Cup duck

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The pressure is on Poland this afternoon against Saudi Arabia as they try to avoid yet another disappointing showing at a major tournament.

Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty in their opening game draw against Mexico, and with Saudi Arabia unexpectedly taking three points from Argentina they face an uphill battle to reach the knockout stages. Poland’s final group game is against Argentina. The mood in the camp is low and manager Czeslaw Michniewicz has been criticized for not maximizing the talent available to him. Poland have not reached the World Cup last-16 since 1986, and will surely have to adopt a more adventurous approach to change that statistic.

“This result does not take away the chances of advancing further neither from us nor the Mexicans,” Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said after Tuesday’s stalemate.

Saudi Arabia on the other hand are buoyant after their remarkable showing against Argentina. Herve Renard’s team were incredibly bold in their approach, squeezing Argentina’s midfielders at every opportunity and holding one of the highest defensive lines in the tournament. They unsettled Argentina with their physicality and intensity out of possession, and were rewarded with a second-half comeback that toppled the second-favourites to win the tournament.

Salem Al Dawsari scored a spectacular winner and defender Hassan Al Tambakti was a colossus, celebrating tackles and blocks like goals. The result was so significant that a national holiday was declared in Saudi Arabia, with scenes of French celebrations going viral online.

“Argentina is the champion of the Copa America and had not lost in the last 36 games, but you know what happens when a small team plays as we are neighbors of Qatar,” Renard said.

This contributed to the presence of a large number of our fans in the stadium. We had to think about it and think about the 35 million Saudis who waited for this match.

Full team news on the way shortly.

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