Senegal severely punished Poland for their defensive errors with a 2-1 victory in the final match of the first round of 2018 Fifa World Cup games Tuesday afternoon.
The Teranga Lions benefited an own goal and a defensive howler to get the much needed goals for the first three points by an African side at the Russia tournament.
Senegal started on the front foot with Torino’s M’Baye Niang failing to pick out a man in the middle after a good run down the left.
They then took a deserved lead just after the half hour mark, but it was a nightmare for Thiago Cionek. Captain Sadio Mane squared the ball for Idrissa Gueye outside the box, and his shot took a deflection off the defender and rolled past Szczesny.
Poland had failed to get star man Robert Lewandowski into the action, but he was brought down on the edge of the box by Salif Sane. The Bayern Munich striker took the kick himself, but it was well saved by Khadim N’Diaye.
The Poles were pushing hard to find an equaliser, but they shot themselves in the foot with a quite extraordinary defensive mix-up.
Gregorz Krychowiak inexplicably lofted the ball back into his own half, where M’Baye Niang had just returned to the pitch after injury.
Jan Bednarek appeared not to notice the Niang, so Szczesny ran out to try and clear himself but the shot-stopper didn’t get to the ball as the Senegal striker was left with an easy finish for 2-0.
Ismaïla Sarr went down in the box claiming for a penalty, but his appeals were rightly waved away.
With the minutes ticking away, Poland resorted to a more direct style of play and they halved the deficit with 86 minutes on the clock.
Kamil Grosicki swung a free-kick into the box, and Krychowiak was unmarked to meet with a fantastic header.
Goalkeeper N’Diaye made an important catch from a corner in injury time, and Senegal held on for what could prove a crucial win.
Senegal and Japan tie atop Group H after beating Poland and Colombia 2-1 respectively.
Source: footyafrica.com
