World Cup 2022: Mexico 0-0 Poland: Robert Lewandowski misses penalty in World Cup opener

Publish date: 2024-01-26

Robert Lewandowski had a penalty saved as Poland and Mexico played out a goalless World Cup draw at a fervent Stadium 974.

Captain Lewandowski has never scored in the tournament and his wait continues after a tame effort was kept out by Mexico's veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

The 40,000-capacity venue was filled largely by raucous Mexico supporters and deafening cheers rung round when Lewandowski's shot stayed out.

A forgettable first half saw Alexis Vega head narrowly wide and the only effort on target came when Jorge Sanchez's shot from the angle was pushed away by Wojciech Szczesny.

Hirving Lozano's curling effort from range was straight at the Poland goalkeeper, before the game finally sparked into life in the second half.

But both sides had to settle for a draw after Ochoa, 37, dived the right way to keep out Barcelona striker Lewandowski's penalty, awarded after the referee watched a replay on the pitchside monitor.

Earlier in the day in Group C, Saudi Arabia caused one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history by coming from behind to beat heavily fancied Argentina.

A wide open group

With Saudi Arabia creating a seismic World Cup moment with their stunning victory, it leaves this group wide open and all four sides will now harbour hopes of reaching the last 16.

A tremendous atmosphere at Stadium 974, built using that number of shipping containers, was let down by a poor spectacle on the pitch.

Lewandowski, who has 18 goals in 19 games for Barcelona this season, was jeered by the Mexican supporters throughout the game and had a huge opportunity to silence the opposition supporters.

The striker was brought down in the box by Hector Moreno and after advice from the video assistant referee to review to incident, Australian referee Chris Beath awarded a penalty.

Poland's last five World Cup goals - dating back to 1998 - have all been via set-pieces so you would have banked on the usually reliable Lewandowski to hit the net.

But the 34-year-old extended his goalless run in the competition to 360 minutes by missing the penalty, having also failed to score in the three games four years ago.

The draw means Poland have won just one of their last nine opening World Cup games and the miss could prove crucial as they aim to make it out of the group for the first time since 1986.

Mexico, meanwhile, have made it to the knockout stage at the last eight World Cups but may see this as a missed opportunity against a Poland side that offered very little in attack.

Napoli forward Lozano had their best chances, but a strike from range and flicked header were both kept out by Szczesny, while Uriel Antuna cut in from the right but strangled a shot straight at the goalkeeper late on.

Player of the match

OchoaGuillermo Ochoa

with an average of 7.37

Mexico

  • Squad number13Player nameOchoa

    Average rating

    7.37

  • Squad number9Player nameJiménez

    Average rating

    7.35

  • Squad number22Player nameLozano

    Average rating

    6.89

  • Squad number15Player nameMoreno

    Average rating

    6.44

  • Squad number4Player nameÁlvarez

    Average rating

    6.44

  • Squad number24Player nameChávez

    Average rating

    6.32

  • Squad number23Player nameGallardo

    Average rating

    6.31

  • Squad number10Player nameVega

    Average rating

    6.22

  • Squad number16Player nameHerrera

    Average rating

    6.20

  • Squad number3Player nameMontes

    Average rating

    6.14

  • Squad number20Player nameMartín

    Average rating

    5.89

  • Squad number19Player nameSánchez

    Average rating

    5.83

  • Squad number21Player nameAntuna

    Average rating

    5.83

  • Squad number8Player nameRodríguez

    Average rating

    5.83

    • Poland

  • Squad number2Player nameCashAverage rating

    7.24

  • Squad number1Player nameSzczesnyAverage rating

    6.96

  • Squad number19Player nameSzymanskiAverage rating

    6.76

  • Squad number15Player nameGlikAverage rating

    6.68

  • Squad number10Player nameKrychowiakAverage rating

    6.67

  • Squad number13Player nameKaminskiAverage rating

    6.67

  • Squad number20Player nameZielinskiAverage rating

    6.62

  • Squad number18Player nameBereszynskiAverage rating

    6.58

  • Squad number14Player nameKiwiorAverage rating

    6.57

  • Squad number6Player nameBielikAverage rating

    6.50

  • Squad number21Player nameZalewskiAverage rating

    6.38

  • Squad number7Player nameMilikAverage rating

    6.16

  • Squad number9Player nameLewandowskiAverage rating

    6.05

  • Squad number24Player nameFrankowskiAverage rating

    5.83

    • Line-ups

    Mexico

    Formation 4-3-3

    13Ochoa

    19Sánchez3Montes15Moreno23Gallardo

    16Herrera4Álvarez24Chávez

    22Lozano20Martín10Vega

    Substitutes

    Poland

    Formation 4-1-4-1

    1Szczesny

    2Cash15Glik14Kiwior18Bereszynski

    10Krychowiak

    13Kaminski20Zielinski19Szymanski21Zalewski

    9Lewandowski

    Substitutes

    Referee:Chris Beath

    Attendance:39,369

    Match Stats

    Live Text

  • Match ends, Mexico 0, Poland 0.

  • Second Half ends, Mexico 0, Poland 0.

  • Attempt saved. Uriel Antuna (Mexico) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Luis Chávez.

  • Attempt missed. Grzegorz Krychowiak (Poland) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Robert Lewandowski.

  • Attempt saved. Jakub Kaminski (Poland) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Robert Lewandowski.

  • Foul by Hirving Lozano (Mexico).

  • Matty Cash (Poland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  • Offside, Mexico. Jesús Gallardo tries a through ball, but Edson Álvarez is caught offside.

  • Corner, Mexico. Conceded by Bartosz Bereszynski.

  • Substitution, Poland. Arkadiusz Milik replaces Piotr Zielinski.

  • Foul by Hirving Lozano (Mexico).

  • Matty Cash (Poland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  • Substitution, Mexico. Uriel Antuna replaces Alexis Vega.

  • Corner, Mexico. Conceded by Matty Cash.

  • Attempt missed. Jakub Kiwior (Poland) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Piotr Zielinski with a cross following a corner.

  • Corner, Poland. Conceded by Alexis Vega.

  • Foul by Edson Álvarez (Mexico).

  • Robert Lewandowski (Poland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  • Attempt missed. Alexis Vega (Mexico) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Jesús Gallardo.

  • Foul by César Montes (Mexico).

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