Argentina rose easily – and took opponents Poland with them

Pure drama reigned until the last second yesterday in the promotion race of group C: Argentina won the group with a 2-0 win over Poland and took the opponent with them – because rival Mexico 2-1 in the parallel game against Saudi Arabia after an earlier 2-0 -Had run in vain for the lead in the second half to score the third goal for promotion.

The Poles advanced without creating a scoring opportunity in the 90 minutes against Argentina. The South Americans could have made things much easier for themselves before the break. There were chances every minute – and a small Messi bonus on a penalty in the 37th minute. After his header went over the goal, Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny caught him with his hand to his face. There was contact, the ball was already gone, but still in play. But was it really enough for VAR to take action, or was that situation within the referee’s room for interpretation?

The Dutch referee Danny Makkelie, who had immediately indicated that the game should continue, watched the situation on the screen for a long time before he, unconvinced, decided to take a penalty. Luckily for all, this situation was not to decide the game: Lionel Messi’s penalty, halfway into the right corner, was a gift for the prolific Juventus goalkeeper Szczesny, who saved his second penalty of the tournament.

Immediately after the break, the Poles were punished for their passivity. First, Alexis Mac Allister converted Nahuel Molina into the far corner (46th). Even though it soon became clear that one point would be enough, Argentina followed suit. Julian Alvarez sent the ball under the bar with a powerful shot after 67 minutes. The Poles made no move to do anything for the game after that either, but only tried to somehow prevent further goals from being conceded. With a bit of luck, that was also possible – and should actually be enough in the end.

Mexico’s drama despite victory

After just an hour, the Polish spectators in the stadium were already keeping an eye on the parallel game between Mexico and Saudi Arabia, which also lasted around five minutes longer than the Poland game. The Mexicans quickly led 2-0 after the break thanks to goals from Henry Martin (47′) and Luis Chavez (52′). The Mexicans continued to attack because 2-0 wasn’t enough. After the 0:0 in a direct duel against Poland, both teams had the same goal difference of 2:2. And because Poland received fewer yellow cards than Mexico, Lewandowski and Co. would have gone through 2-0 due to the fair play rule. This would not have meant a premiere: in 2018 Japan had also risen compared to Senegal because fewer warnings had been received.

With the 1-2 goal from Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al Dawasari (95th), the goal difference finally decided Poland. Mexico would still have been enough to climb up – but this should not fall. It was a bitter end for the superior Mexicans.