Saudi Arabia pulled off the biggest shock of the opening round of matches in the World Cup’s group stage courtesy of a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Argentina.
The Green Falcons were brilliant on the day against a lackadaisical Argentina team. Now, manager Herve Renard can seal Saudi Arabia’s progression to the round of 16 for only the second time with a win against Poland on Saturday.
2⃣ DNI! 😍___________#POLKSA 🇵🇱🇸🇦 #KierunekKatar pic.twitter.com/jeGkqbl6az— Łączy nas piłka (@LaczyNasPilka) November 24, 2022
2⃣ DNI! 😍___________#POLKSA 🇵🇱🇸🇦 #KierunekKatar pic.twitter.com/jeGkqbl6az
Poland are coming off a nil-nil draw against Mexico on day No 1 of Group C. Polish star striker Robert Lewandowski is now goalless in four World Cup matches in his career. Poland need their star forward to step up for them in the game and to get a goal.
Eleven of the 12 games at the FIFA World Cup saw both teams not score in the first half. For the most part, the first round of group games was low scoring with seven of the opening 12 fixtures ending no BTTS.
Poland only kept 39% of the ball against Mexico, while tallying six shots with two on target. The attack has to be far better against Saudi Arabia to get anything from the game.
Coach Czesław Michniewicz used a 4-2-3-1 formation in the opener. Several teams at the World Cup are using a double-holding midfielder formation or a variation on it.
The formation made Poland very defensive and one reason they spent a lot of time without the ball.
The manager could change up to a two-striker formation and bring Arkadiusz Milik into the team. However, Lewandowski has spent most of his career playing in a one-striker set-up.
Saudi Arabia also played very defensively in their opener. The Green Falcons had just 30% of the possession against Argentina, but that was always expected.
The Saudis play defensively, and it should allow Poland the chance to have more of the ball in match No 2. Renard also uses a defensive 4-2-3-1 formation. Saudi Arabia tallied just three shots against Argentina, but it happened that two were on target.
Left-back Yasser Shahrani will miss the game after an awful collision with goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais. Shahrani will be a big miss for the Saudis.
Saudi Arabia may not be able to replicate their performance from opening day. The Polish should edge the Green Eagles 1-0 to get all three points. The win could put more pressure on Argentina, who started the World Cup as the second favourite to win it, according to bookmakers.