With a goal from midfielder Alexis Mac Allister in the first action of the second half and another from Julián Álvarez to seal the deal in the final third, Argentina found relief and the path to the round of 16 of Qatar 2002 as the group winner to face Australia on the straight path to the world objective.
In the night reserved for the impact and brilliance of Leo Messi and Robert Lewandowski, it was the Brighton midfielder who turned the tricky match for the South American team, which crashed, as far as it could, with the Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who prevented a greater punishment and disguised the shortcomings of his team. The goalkeeper of Napoli stopped Argentina and Messi, who even missed a penalty in the half-hour mark.
Poland stays in the World Cup thanks to goal difference. Tied on points with Mexico, who beat Saudi Arabia, they avoided elimination by a hair's breadth.
If it weren't for Wojciech Szczesny, Poland would have booked their return ticket before halftime. The Napoli goalkeeper was the savior of a discreet team that managed to reach the final round with options and as the leader of Group C due to their defensive discipline and the talent of their two outstanding players. The Warsaw-born goalkeeper and Robert Lewandowski, who had little involvement in the first half.
The Barcelona forward was an island, the only performer in the European attack. Far from the rest of the team, lurking, waiting for Argentina's mistake, increasingly looser, increasingly offensive.
In ten minutes, Leo Messi looked for the goal twice. The second one, from an angle, was the introduction of Szczesny, who had to multiply afterward. It seemed only a matter of time before Argentina found cracks in the Polish defense and opened the scoring.
A shot by Alexis Mac Allister that was cleared by the defender before reaching the goal ended up at the feet of Marcos Acuña, who made a good shot that hit the post. Ángel Di María tried the Olympic goal but didn't surprise the Napoli goalkeeper, who prevented the goal in another close-range shot from Julián Álvarez.
The Manchester City forward was one of the new faces in Lionel Scaloni's starting eleven, which once again stirred up the starting lineup. If they made five changes against Mexico, this time it was four. Enzo Fernández earned the starting spot. He played with good judgment in front of the defense, which this time featured the presence of Nahuel Molina at right-back and Cristián Romero in the center alongside veteran Nicolás Otamendi.
The penalty was the opportunity for Argentina to find some relief before halftime. Szczesny came out for the ball and hit Leo Messi in the face as he headed the ball. VAR warned the referee, who reviewed the action and awarded a penalty kick. The captain, the Argentine goal scorer, took the shot. It went to the left of Szczesny, who made a prodigious save to prevent the goal.
Szczesny has already saved two penalties, also saving his team against Saudi Arabia when he guessed the shot of Salem Al Dawsary in the second round.
Argentina couldn't find a way out until Mac Allister appeared in the first action of the second half. Precisely when the Polish coach was looking for more bite in his team with the entrance of Jakub Laminski and Michal Skoras.
The newly-introduced players didn't have time to put their coach Czeslaw Michniewicz's instructions into practice because a raid down the right flank by Nahuel Molina ended with a cross into the area that reached Mac Allister. The Brighton midfielder shot. He hit it poorly but the ball came out poisoned, stuck to the post out of reach of Szczesny.
Poland didn't react. And they were playing with fire. The game belonged to Argentina, who didn't stop. They found the second goal in the final third of the match, in the 68th minute when Enzo Fernández invented a pass to Julián Álvarez, who was facing away from the goal. He turned, made space for himself, and his shot was impossible for the Polish goalkeeper. The 22-year-old Manchester City forward scored his first goal. There was no better stage.
There could have been many more. Argentina was comfortable and the Poles were disoriented. Messi didn't have his day as he collided with Szczesni's inspiration in every attempt.
Argentina left behind the nightmare against Saudi Arabia. From worse to better, they got through the matches against Mexico and Poland to escape the initial phase successfully, reach the round of 16, and extend their objective.
EFE.
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