Matty Cash and Jan Bednarek are back in action as Poland take on Saudi Arabia in Group C. Find out how the pair got on at the Education City Stadium…
Despite three changes from the 0-0 against Mexico on Tuesday, Bednarek found himself among the substitutes again this afternoon. As expected, Cash kept his place in the side.
Saudi Arabia were on top for the majority of the first half and Poland struggled to cope early on as three players, including Cash, were booked. The full-back was cautioned for a rash challenge on Salem Al Dawsari. Poland’s Piotr Zieliński opened the scoring in the 40th minute after excellent play by Villa’s No.2; setting up Robert Lewandowski who teed it up for the goalscorer.
The 25-year-old was constantly involved throughout the first 45 minutes, getting forward frequently down the right and putting himself about plenty at the back. Saudi had a late chance to equalise before the break, but Al Dawsari’s penalty was saved by Wojciech Szczęny who expertly kept out the follow-up too.
The second half followed a similar trend as the first and aṣ-Ṣuqūr al-‘Khoḍur (The Green Falcons) continued to see more of the ball. Poland defended well however, denying Hervé Renard’s side a clear sight of goal. Cash, already a yellow, made a couple of fouls and some would argue the Villa man was lucky to remain on the field.
Aside from that though, the high-flying defender performed well and found joy overlapping and exchanging play with his midfield teammates. Al Dawsari was his biggest threat and he did outwit the former Nottingham Forest man on a couple of occasions, but on the whole, Cash dealt with the Al-Hilal forward well.
Robert Lewandowski capitalised on Abdulelah Al Malki’s mistake and made it 2-0 in the 82 minute. Poland withstood late pressure and remained resilient, sticking it out for what could be a valuable three points in Group C. Matty Cash will be delighted with his side’s clean sheet and will look to do the same in the final group game too. Bednarek meanwhile, will look to make his first appearance in Qatar.
PLAYER RATING
UP NEXT & PREVIOUS MEETINGS
You can watch Poland’s third and final group game against Argentina on Wednesday 30th November on BBC One. Kick-off is at 7pm, but coverage begins at 6:15pm.
These two sides have met eleven times in the past: eight friendly fixtures, two FIFA World Cup contests and a 1984 NEHRU Cup meeting. Biało-czerwoni (The White and Red) have been victorious on three occasions, they have lost three times and the two sides have drawn on two occasions. The most recent fixture in 2011 ended in Poland’s favour as goals from Adrian Mierzejewski and Pawel Brozek cancelled out Marco Ruben’s strike.
Poland are now in a good position to qualify from Group C and all eyes will be on Argentina vs Mexico later this evening (7pm kick-off). With arguably their toughest test up next, can Cash and Bednarek make it through to the knockout phases?
GROUP TABLE
AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive liamayrtondavies – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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