Argentina Prove Too Strong for Poland and Top Group C

01/12/22 1082

Argentina came into their final game of Group C against Poland knowing they needed to win the match to guarantee a place in the round of 16.

Poland started the match top of the group on 4 points and a draw would have been enough to see them book their spot in the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup.

Poland played most of the game like a team who wanted to leave with a 0-0 draw. Robert Lewandowski was an isolated figure up-front and the fact Poland failed to hit the target tells you everything you need to know about their display.

Argentina on the other hand came out to play attacking football and put Poland on the back foot. It was their best performance of the 2022 World Cup to date and Lionel Messi was inspirational at times, despite missing a penalty in the 39th minute.

Argentina did not waste any time in the second half and opened the scoring in the 46th minute. Nahuel Molina advanced down the right and cut the ball back to Alexis Mac Allister to sweep the ball home in fortuitous fashion.

It was a scuffed finished from Mac Allister but Argentina deserved their lead and doubled their advantage in the 67th minute courtesy of a fine strike from Julian Alvarez.

As the match entered the final minutes, it became strange as Poland, despite losing 2-0, sat off Argentina and did not want to make a tackle.

The reason for their approach was due to the fact Mexico were beating Saudi Arabia 2-0 and that saw Poland sit second in the table due to having a better disciplinary record.

In truth, it was not a lot different to what Poland produced for much of the game, so it came naturally to them. They did ride their luck as Nicolás Tagliafico went through on goal in the final minutes, only to be denied by the impressive Wojciech Szczęsny in the Polish goal.

As the final whistle sounded, the Polish players faced an anxious wait as they hoped Mexico did not score a third goal in the time that remained in that match.

Fortunately for Poland, Saudi Arabia found the back of the net and that game ended 2-1 to Mexico, putting Poland through in second place thanks to a superior goal difference. However, Poland are going to have to seriously up their game if they are to have any chance of beating France in the round of 16.

Argentina will be happy to meet Australia in the round of 16. They looked like the team many people backed to go all the way in Qatar for much of this match and dominated possession, having seen 73% of the ball.

Argentina had 23 shots in the game, with 12 on target and if they reproduce the same level of performance against Australia, should have little difficulty reaching the quarter final of the 2022 World Cup.