Polish talisman Lewandowski was wrestled to the ground by Hector Moreno in the penalty area on Tuesday, giving Poland a golden opportunity to steal all three points against Mexico after a lacklustre, perhaps overly cautious opening 45 minutes at Stadium 974.
Guillermo Ochoa, a World Cup hero, was there to stop the nation’s all-time leading scorer, but the Barcelona forward missed from 12 yards for the second time in a row.
Czeslaw Michniewicz’s team will feel that this was a missed opportunity against a team that they would have been expecting to compete with for that second qualification spot after favourites Argentina dropped unlikely points. They only scored 0.04 expected goals in the first half and 0.14 overall in the game other than the penalty.
If Poland are to stand any chance of progressing, a victory is vitally important here, and they will have to be on their toes against a high-pressing Saudi Arabia side, who will still be riding the wave of their greatest ever victory.
As the 31-year-sensational old’s curling finish condemned Argentina to their first loss in 36 games, Salem Al-spectacular Dawsari’s winning goal on Tuesday will go down in World Cup folklore.
The team of Herve Renard dazzled with their daring style of play, employing a perilously high and aggressive line and breaking the offside trap ten times.
Hassan Al Tambakti gave a valiant effort in the centre of defense, while Mohamed Kanno performed nearly flawlessly in the middle as the enforcer of the midfield.
With three points already in hand, a win today would put them in a strong position to advance to the knockout rounds for the first time since 1994.
1X2 Betting Odds
Poland are still the favourites to win this one, with excellent odds of 1.79.
Saudi Arabia will be hopeful after their biggest win over Argentina, but coming into this match theirs odds are 5.25!
The draw stands at 3.75.
Only a will win really do for Poland here, so I expect them to play more expansively and aggressively in search of an all-important three points!
Saudi Arabia, however, have proven that they can beat anyone, and I think they have enough to frustrate their opponents and possibly take another huge step to qualification!
Total goals over/under
The odds that the total number of goals score will be over 2.5, stands at 2.18.
While the odds that the total number of goals will be under 2.5, stands at 1.78.
So the market expects this to be a tight affair, but Poland coming on the top!
