Robert Lewandowski Scores as Poland Beat Spirited Saudi Arabia
Robert Lewandowski scored his first ever World Cup goal as Poland brought Saudi Arabia back down to earth with a bump on Saturday with an 2-0 Group C victory that rejuvenated their tournament campaign as reported by Reuters.
Lewandowski, who missed a penalty in Poland’s opening draw with Mexico and was visibly emotional after finding the net, pounced on a mistake in the 82nd minute to double Poland’s lead after Piotr Zielinski had given them a first-half lead.
After completing one of the tournament’s greatest ever shocks when they cut Argentina down to size in their opener, the Saudis, who failed to convert a first-half penalty, found Poland a tougher nut to crack at the Education City Stadium.
The win moved Poland to four points, one more than the Saudis, and left them needing a draw in their final game against Argentina next Wednesday to guarantee their spot in the knockouts.
The Saudis, 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 play later on Saturday.
When asked about scoring his first World Cup goal, Lewandowski said: “When it comes to emotions, already during the national anthem when I was singing it, I felt emotions I have today. It’s difficult to describe them.
“During the game — of course after we scored, everything I had inside me — the dreams, and importance of the goal, and how I scored it, all those dreams from an early childhood were just fulfilled and came true.
He added: “When you play for the national squad, you have to focus on results. But I’ve always wanted to score at the World Cup and this dream came true. It’s not easy because we didn’t have that many opportunities during he first match and I missed the penalty kick. I’m happy I could learn from the mistake, I learnt I had to fight. The older I get, the more emotional I get and I am aware that when it when it comes to the World Cup — it may be my last World Cup.”
