Remarkably, Robert Lewandowski had never scored at the World Cup before this one. Against Saudi Arabia he put that unwanted run to rest and may have given his side a shot at qualification too.
Poland found themselves very much in a game against Saudi Arabia, as Herve Renard’s side took the game to them. They found themselves behind against the run of play, when Lewandowski skipped past the goalkeeper to pull the ball back for Piotr Zielinski.
𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘 🎯
Matty Cash in the thick of it but it's Napoli midfielder Piotr Zieliński who strikes to put Poland in front against Saudi Arabia 🇵🇱🇸🇦#ITVFootball | #FifaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/lIbqxGP2mb
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 26, 2022
THERE IT IS FOR POLAND 🇵🇱
Piotr Zieliński finds the back of the net pic.twitter.com/F1mlATVuhn
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 26, 2022
Wojciech Szczesny then saved both the penalty and the rebound late in the first half to keep Poland in front. His side would then hit the bar and the post, but as Saudi Arabia cranked up the pressure, Lewandowski would seal the game following a bad defensive error.
Lewandowski was filled with emotion after scoring his first-ever FIFA World Cup goal ❤️🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/LgWfBb780w
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 26, 2022
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄
Robert Lewandowski finally has his World Cup goal 🇵🇱👏
Look how much that means to him 😢 pic.twitter.com/TTdOLH3ivS
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 26, 2022
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI, YOU ROCK MY WORLD! 🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱
— Sara 🦋 (@SaraFCBi) November 26, 2022
While it is somewhat surprising Lewandowski has not scored at the World Cup before, it is just the second of his career. Poland had not qualified with him in the side until 2018, when Poland finished bottom of their group with Colombia, Senegal and Japan.
It did look like particularly costly for Poland in the first match when Lewandowski missed a penalty against Mexico, but this will feel like some form of redemption for the iconic striker.
