ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI finally scored his first World Cup goal – after swapping the colour of his boots at half-time.
The legendary striker wore golden footwear in the first half against the Saudis, during which he teed up Piotr Zielinski for the opener.
Lewandowski switched to yellow after the break and eventually buried the Green Falcons after capitalising on a horrendous error from Abdulellah Al-Malki.
All his team-mates bundled on a jubilant and emotional Lewandowski, who missed a penalty in the 0-0 opener against Mexico.
It put Poland into a strong position in Group C – and ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny deserved a huge amount of credit for delivering it.
The Juventus man saved a penalty in first-half stoppage time from Salem Al-Dawsari, before making an even better stop to turn over the follow-up.
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The Saudis had provided the story of the tournament with their shock win against Argentina, and their fans may well be the loudest too.
They belted out their side’s national anthem and kept the volume pumped up as their side made a brilliant start.
Herve Renard’s men looked technically and physically up to the challenge and put Poland under considerable pressure in the opening stages.
Midfielder Mohammed Kanno came closest to making that early dominance count as he drew a terrific save from Szczesny after a neat one-two.
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The European side responded by becoming the first World Cup team in two decades to have three players booked in the first 20 minutes.
Polish boss Czeslaw Michniewicz said there had been a bit of stage fright from his team in the 0-0 opener against Mexico but promised there would not be here – yet the way his players began suggested otherwise.
They did eventually get going and on 39 minutes took the lead, with Aston Villa’s Matty Cash heavily involved.
The right-back bombed forward on the overlap and crossed for Lewandowski, who got in front of the goalkeeper but was pushed wide.
Still, Poland’s talisman had the presence of mind to cut back for Zilinski, who smashed into the roof of the net.
It momentarily silenced the raucous crowd, but the noise was cranked up to 11 when the Saudis were awarded a penalty in first-half injury time.
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Birmingham defender Krystian Bielik had caught striker Saleh Al-Shehri on the ankle.
And though Brazilian ref Wilton Sampaio did not initially give it, a quick check of his pitchside monitor on the advice of VAR, saw him change his mind.
Up stepped Al-Dawsari, scorer of the winner against Argentina and dubbed the Middle East’s best player, to take it.
But the effort from ‘the Tornado’, as he is nicknamed, was denied by Szczesny, diving low to his right, before the ex-Arsenal stopper did even better to tip over Mohammed Al-Burayk’s follow-up six yards out.
Saudi had fallen behind against Argentina and come away with the win, so one goal was never going to knock their confidence.
Especially with twinkle-toed Al-Dawsari, who found himself six yards out surrounded by players ten minutes into the second half, but once again he was denied by Szczesny.
Poland then were cursing their luck as they struck the woodwork twice in quick succession.
The first came from Arkadiusz Milik’s header against the bar, followed by Lewandowski hitting the post.
But the great man’s moment did eventually come with seven minutes to play, largely in thanks to Al-Malki’s dodgy touch.
Saudi’s No8, who had just missed a decent chance, got his control all wrong on the edge of the area, allowing Lewandowski to steal in.
The Barcelona forward did the rest, firing in his 77th goal for his country.
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Saudi were threatening a desert storm at this World Cup after their win over the Argies, sparked by the Tornado’s fabulous strike.
Yet now Renard’s men need a result in their final match against Mexico to keep them in it.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
