Senegal vs Poland Review
Poland 1-2 Senegal
Underwhelming Polish performance, convincing Senegal win, Lewandowski under pressure again?
Needless to say, Poland were far from their best in this game. Especially their best player, Robert Lewandowski, who could not influence the match in the style in which he can in the Bundesliga, once again questioning his ability to perform when it really counts.
Poland boasted possession for most of the game but could not do much with it, making drab passes without intention and desire which you'd expect from a team with players like Lewandowski, Zielinski, Grosicki and Blaszczykowski alike. Senegal were comfortable with hitting Poland on the break, with the Poles looking less than comfortable at the back and being unable to cope with threats such as Sadio Mane and M'Baye Niang, who scored Senegal's second. The first came with an own goal in the 37th minute from Thiago Cionek, who could do nothing with an awkward shot coming his way as the ball deflected agonizingly past his goalkeeper Szczesny. A reaction was needed.
After the break, Poland once again had possession, but looked lethargic in what they were trying to achieve. Sideway pass after sideway pass showed an apparent loss of ambition from Poland, whose closest chance at an equalizer came from Robert Lewandowski in the 50th minute with a free-kick which was palmed away by Senegal keeper Khadim N'Diaye. But it was the easiest goal M'Baye Niang could've ever asked for as a horrible lapse of communication and an absolute travesty of a back-pass(if you can even call it that) allowed the forward to convert home in front of the fans who watched in delight. Senegal were taking their chances, Poland were not. Senegal were smart with the ball, Poland...were not. Poland had 11 shots to Senegal's 9, but conversion rate of 22% for Senegal to Poland's 9% pretty much tells you everything.
Poland switched up the pressure for the last twenty minutes, and all credit must go to Krychowiak who headed home in the 86th minute with a conversion a striker would be proud of. But alas, Senegal were smart for 90 minutes, they played to their strengths on the wings and they fully deserve the three points. Poland were for a better word, embarrassing. With all of the quality they boast, even though it is clear the Senegalese team is far from a pushover, they should win on paper. But credit must also go to Kalidou Koulibaly who is once again proving his worth as one of the best central defenders in the world with a commanding and no nonsense performance which fully warrants attention from the world's best clubs.
What next? For Senegal, don't change. Play to your strengths, keep doing what you're doing. Because it's clear that its working. For Poland, its time to pull your weight because your team let your country down today. Back to the drawing board.
Underwhelming Polish performance, convincing Senegal win, Lewandowski under pressure again?
Needless to say, Poland were far from their best in this game. Especially their best player, Robert Lewandowski, who could not influence the match in the style in which he can in the Bundesliga, once again questioning his ability to perform when it really counts.
Poland boasted possession for most of the game but could not do much with it, making drab passes without intention and desire which you'd expect from a team with players like Lewandowski, Zielinski, Grosicki and Blaszczykowski alike. Senegal were comfortable with hitting Poland on the break, with the Poles looking less than comfortable at the back and being unable to cope with threats such as Sadio Mane and M'Baye Niang, who scored Senegal's second. The first came with an own goal in the 37th minute from Thiago Cionek, who could do nothing with an awkward shot coming his way as the ball deflected agonizingly past his goalkeeper Szczesny. A reaction was needed.
After the break, Poland once again had possession, but looked lethargic in what they were trying to achieve. Sideway pass after sideway pass showed an apparent loss of ambition from Poland, whose closest chance at an equalizer came from Robert Lewandowski in the 50th minute with a free-kick which was palmed away by Senegal keeper Khadim N'Diaye. But it was the easiest goal M'Baye Niang could've ever asked for as a horrible lapse of communication and an absolute travesty of a back-pass(if you can even call it that) allowed the forward to convert home in front of the fans who watched in delight. Senegal were taking their chances, Poland were not. Senegal were smart with the ball, Poland...were not. Poland had 11 shots to Senegal's 9, but conversion rate of 22% for Senegal to Poland's 9% pretty much tells you everything.
Poland switched up the pressure for the last twenty minutes, and all credit must go to Krychowiak who headed home in the 86th minute with a conversion a striker would be proud of. But alas, Senegal were smart for 90 minutes, they played to their strengths on the wings and they fully deserve the three points. Poland were for a better word, embarrassing. With all of the quality they boast, even though it is clear the Senegalese team is far from a pushover, they should win on paper. But credit must also go to Kalidou Koulibaly who is once again proving his worth as one of the best central defenders in the world with a commanding and no nonsense performance which fully warrants attention from the world's best clubs.
What next? For Senegal, don't change. Play to your strengths, keep doing what you're doing. Because it's clear that its working. For Poland, its time to pull your weight because your team let your country down today. Back to the drawing board.
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