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Football: Poland draw 0-0 with Mexico in World Cup opener

22.11.2022 19:00
Poland’s national football team tied 0-0 with Mexico in its first game at the World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday.
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    Football: Poland draw 0-0 with Mexico in World Cup opener
Poland captain Robert Lewandowski (left) in action against Mexicos Edson Alvarez (right) at Stadium 974 in Doha on Tuesday.
Poland captain Robert Lewandowski (left) in action against Mexico's Edson Alvarez (right) at Stadium 974 in Doha on Tuesday. Photo: EPA/Noushad Thekkayil

Captain Robert Lewandowski led the Poles to the hard-fought goalless draw at Stadium 974 in Doha.

The Polish star striker missed a penalty in the 58th minute of the match and a chance to finally score a World Cup goal.

Photo: Photo: EPA/Rungroj Yongrit

Poland next take on Saudi Arabia and Argentina in the group stage of the tournament in Qatar.

Manager Czesław Michniewicz's men are scheduled to face off against Saudi Arabia at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan near Doha on Saturday, and play Argentina at Stadium 974 in Doha on November 30.

Michniewicz said earlier this week that the team’s Group C fixture against Mexico could prove to be crucial to Poland’s success in the tournament.

Poland's draw with Mexico left Saudi Arabia as the early leaders of Group C after their shock 2-1 win over Argentina on Tuesday.

Poland are ranked No. 26 worldwide by world football's governing body FIFA. Meanwhile, Argentina are in third place; Mexico are ranked 13th, and Saudi Arabia are at No. 51 in the FIFA table.

Teams from 32 nations will play a total of 64 matches at eight stadiums in Qatar during this year's World Cup, which kicked off on Sunday and runs until December 18.

According to a study by experts at London's Alan Turing Institute, Brazil are in the best position to win the World Cup in Qatar, while Poland are the 16th-most likely winner.

Poland qualified for the 2022 World Cup after defeating Sweden 2-0 in a playoff at home in late March.

Lewandowski, Poland's all-time top scorer, bagged nine goals in his team’s World Cup qualifying campaign.

The 34-year-old Barcelona striker has scored 76 goals in 135 appearances for Poland.

He is still looking to net his first career World Cup goal after failing to score at the 2018 tournament in Russia.

The Polish team failed to advance to the knockout phase of the 2018 World Cup in Russia after losing 1-2 to Senegal and 0-3 to Colombia in the group stage. Poland won their final game, beating Japan 1-0, but finished bottom of their Group H and made an early exit from the tournament more than four years ago.

Poland finished third in the 1974 World Cup in West Germany and were also third in Spain in 1982.

(gs) 

Source: TVP, IAR, PAP