MEXICO – POLAND | Tuesday 5pm
Among the most interesting matches of this first day, the one between Mexico and Poland is already an in or out match, considering that in Group C the first place will hardly have an owner other than Leo Messi’s Argentina, among the main favourites for the final victory. In fact, the team that comes out of defeat would already find itself forced to chase and deal with an important gap. And a success against Saudi Arabia, the least competitive selection in the round, may not be enough. The fight for the second place, therefore, could turn out to be quite exciting, also because there does not seem to be such a marked difference between the Mexicans and Poles. Poland can count on one of the most powerful centre-forwards on the planet, Robert Lewandowski, now at Barcelona after scoring tons of goals with Bayern Munich.
However, despite the presence of a relentless goleador in attack, every time he has taken part in a major event he has often come up short. Disappointing was their expedition to the last European Championships, where they failed to get past the group stage. It was no better in the last Nations League, where it avoided relegation but was never able to keep up with Holland and Belgium. Having failed the Paulo Sousa experiment, it is now led by Czeslaw Michniewicz, a coach with certainly less offensive ideas than the Portuguese.
In the most recent friendly match, Poland beat Chile 1-0, the same result with which they chastised Wales last September, confirming an attack that is anything but prolific despite the presence of quality players such as Zielinski, Milik and the aforementioned Lewandowski. Before landing in Qatar, Mexico, coached by ‘Tata’ Martino, did not shine either. For ‘El Tri’ came three defeats in the last five friendlies, against Paraguay, Colombia and Sweden. In their eighth consecutive participation in a World Cup final, Mexico has never made it past the round of 16 stage since USA ’94. There is already a lot of pressure on the former Barcelona coach, not least because of some of the choices in the call-up process that have caused controversy.
Mexico-Poland: the latest line-up news
A Mexico line-up
Mexico will take the field with a fairly unprepossessing 4-3-3 in which, however, Raul Jimenez’s presence is not certain. The Wolverhampton striker has very few minutes in his legs after yet another bad injury and only played a sliver of a game in the friendly against Sweden. In the trident, therefore, along with the Neapolitan Lozano and Vega, should be the experienced centre-forward Martin from Club America. Between the posts we will find the evergreen Ochoa, but there are other veterans such as 36-year-old Guardado.
On the other side, Michniewicz will choose the tried and tested three-man defence, formed by Bednarek and the ‘Italians’ Glik (Benevento) and Kiwior (Spezia). Zielinski will be the link between the midfield and the attack, making himself dangerous with his insertions. Up front, it is a toss-up between Milik and Swiderski as to who will play alongside Lewandowski. On the left flank, the coach gives confidence to Zalewski, a young talent from Roma.
The prediction
This is a sort of play-off for second place, a match with very high stakes and which could be worth qualifying for the round of 16. It could be a deadlocked game, especially in the first half, but could turn on as soon as a goal breaks the balance. Both should score at least one goal each, but the total number of goals is likely to be less than four. The feeling is that a draw will serve little purpose but it is not an outcome to be ruled out.
Mexico-Poland matchday squad
- MEXICO (4-3-3): Ochoa; Sanchez, Montes, Moreno, Gallardo; Alvarez, Herrera, Guardado; Lozano, Martin, Vega.
- POLAND (3-5-2): Szczesny; Bednarek, Glik, Kiwior; Bereszynski, Krychowiak, Zielinski, Szymanski, Zalewski; Swiderski, Lewandowski.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
