Ochoa saves penalty against Lewandowski: No winner between Poland and Mexico

Striker misses first World Cup goal

With a missed penalty Robert Lewandowski deprived Poland of a great World Cup chance. The ex-Bayern pro failed at the 0-0 draw against Mexico at the start of the tournament amid deafening jubilation at Stadion 974 in Doha, which was almost exclusively filled with North American fans. Lewandowski, who is otherwise so sure of the point, shook his head in disappointment on Tuesday evening in Qatar when he failed to get past the outstandingly reacting Mexican goalkeeper veteran Guillermo Ochoa (58th minute).

The key scene further increased the crackling atmosphere in front of 39,369 spectators, who were feverishly waiting for the result before the video decision on the Lewandowski penalty. In the gripping final phase, neither the overall better Mexicans nor the frustrated Poles managed the lucky punch.

In his fourth World Cup game, Lewandowski not only missed his first World Cup goal, but also a great opportunity to improve Poland’s starting position in the fight for the first round of 16 in 36 years.

A few hours after the tournament shock for Lionel Messi and Argentina in the 1: 2 against the supposed World Cup lightweight Saudi Arabia, the draw in front of the eyes of the German record player Lothar Matthäus made for an exciting situation in Group C. On Saturday, when for Mexico is facing the explosive duel with Messi, his World Cup could already be sealed. Poland then meets group leaders Saudi Arabia.

According to FIFA, 90,000 Mexicans in and around the stadium at the port of Doha made the start of the tournament an atmospheric home game for their team, with the jumping sometimes even vibrating the stands. In contrast to the hot-blooded cheering and La-Ola waves for her selection with many Olympic bronze winners in 2021, fans of “El Tri” gave Lewandowski plenty of whistles even during the warm-up program.

Poland’s national coach Czeslaw Michniewicz, who surprisingly promoted the agile Jakub Kaminski from Wolfsburg to the World Cup formation, was only partially successful with his basic defensive formation. His line of defense stopped the lively Mexicans, who started to celebrate after a header from Alexis Vega (26th). But the plan that Lewandowski, who had switched from FC Bayern to FC Barcelona, ​​should fix it up front, didn’t work out.

The 34-year-old didn’t even use the big chance from the point after being fouled by Héctor Moreno. A header and a nice pass before the break – it wasn’t much more that he posed a threat.

The North Americans kept looking for Germany terror Hirving Lozano, who had initiated the DFB disaster four years ago with a 1-0 win in Russia. Poland’s national goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was in the spotlight several times at the start of his last World Cup, for example when he was tested by Lozano (52′).

In the heated final phase, in which France’s Stéphanie Frappart got a lot to do as fourth official in the first game played by a woman, Mexico striker Henry Martín was denied a header by Szczesny (64′). The Juve keeper was a solid backing but the hero of the night was 37-year-old Ochoa. The goalkeeping legend became the first Mexican keeper since 1966 to save a penalty in regular time at a World Cup game in her fifth World Cup appearance.

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