At 6 p.m. the first group stage round finished at the World Cup - the last representatives of Group H, Poland and Senegal, entered the battle.
The Polish national team players, who performed excellently in the qualifiers, had to swallow a bitter pill in their first World Cup match - physically surpassed by the Senegalese, they secured a victory with a score of 2-1.
In the first half, Adam Nawalka's proteges could not do anything against the Africans - they did not make a single shot on goal. The Senegalese national team utilized their speed and caused problems for the opponents with counterattacks.
In the 37th minute, one of them turned into a goal - Alfred John Momar N'Diaye took a shot from about 18 meters and in an unfavorable position in the penalty area, Thiago Cionek had to take responsibility for the own goal.
In the second half, the situation did not change - the Poles could not find their game. The Senegalese national team seemed fresher and took advantage of the opponent's weaknesses.
In the 60th minute, Grzegorz Krychowiak made a grave mistake in the middle of the field - he carelessly returned the ball to his defenders, and there M'Baye Niang unexpectedly intercepted the ball, dribbled past the goalkeeper, and sent the ball into completely empty goal.
For the Poles, this was a big blow - after another missed goal, they continued to struggle to create, but in the 86th minute, some intrigue returned.
By heading the ball during a set piece, G. Krychowiak corrected his mistake and narrowed the deficit to 1-2.
During the remaining time, no miracle happened - disciplined Senegalese resisted the pressure from the Poles and won a very important victory in the fight for qualification to the quarterfinals.
Result:
Poland 1 - 2 Senegal
37' [0 - 1] T. Cionek (own goal)
60' [0 - 2] M. Niang
86' [1 - 2] G. Krychowiak
First goal:
Second goal:
Third goal:
Next up: #POLSEN! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/OM0d1DTMHm
Key stats:
The first time #POL have conceded to a @CAF_Online nation at the World Cup
First win for an African team at the #WorldCup since Algeria's victory over #KOR in 2014 group stage. #POLSEN pic.twitter.com/t8CzBer3MK
