Argentina and Poland both survived, but Group C’s knockout stage fate wasn’t decided until the final minute of what’s been three matchdays full of drama.
DOHA, Qatar — From the very beginning, the World Cup’s Group C has been a hotbed of drama. From the first match on the first four-game day in Qatar, down to the final whistle in Lusail on Wednesday, which sealed Mexico’s fate and was a sound of relief and celebration for Poland. Saudi Arabia’s win over Argentina ultimately set a course that nearly wound up being sorted by fair-play points and counting cards. And when the dust had settled both in Lusail and Doha, Argentina and Poland were through, Mexico and Saudi Arabia were out and the most chaotic group in Qatar was finally put to rest.
The day began with the possibility that Lionel Messi and Argentina could be ousted. It concluded with La Albiceleste comfortably through as a group winner—thus avoiding France in the last 16 for a second straight World Cup and setting a date with Australia—and while an improved Argentina staked its knockout place with a 2–0 win over a largely supine Poland, the fight for the second spot had Robert Lewandowski’s side and Mexico simultaneously fighting in a battle controlled by all four teams.
For a long time, with Mexico and Argentina both leading 2–0, it had seemed Poland would make it through by dint of having received two fewer yellow cards, which perhaps conditioned its weirdly unadventurous approach, looking to cling on and risk nothing against an opponent that was already through. The plan almost went awry as Nicolás Tagliafico, overlapping on the left, chipped a finish over Wojciech Szczęsny only for Jakub Kiwior to head off the line—and that was before Mexico had conceded to Saudi Arabia, meaning, had it gone in, Poland would’ve been on the outside of the top two via tiebreaker.
“We knew what counted was goals but also yellow cards,” Poland manager Czesław Michniewicz said. “We monitored everything that happened in the second half.”
He admitted that Grzegorz Krychowiak was withdrawn after being booked to avoid the danger of a second yellow and a red card—an ejection that would have come with enough fair-play points to put Poland behind.
In the end, Saudi Arabia’s goal avoided the unpalatable tiebreak scenario, and Michniewicz’s side unconvincingly went through, setting a date with defending champion France. The mood of Polish journalists in the post-match press conference was skeptical, with one asking “Are you satisfied?”
Michniewicz blamed the heat, the poor playing surface and his own side’s poor passing before, via an unexpected defense of Aimé Jacquet, who led France to the 1998 World Cup despite being criticized for his conservatism, insisting he deserved credit for taking his side to the last 16.
“We played in this difficult group and went through, let’s enjoy it,” he said.
But in discussing Lewandowski’s quiet display, Michniewicz made his opinion about his side clear. “Robert was very much involved and engaged,” he said. “I’m not criticizing anybody, but we didn’t support him. If Messi played for us and Lewandowski for Argentina he would score five goals. He needs the right conditions.”
Poland may indeed be through, onto the knockout stage for the first time since 1986, but if Wednesday’s performance is any indicator, it would be a major upset were it to beat France.
As for Argentina, Poland’s diffidence is the one factor that raises doubts about its performance, but it looked Wednesday, again, like a side that could potentially challenge for the World Cup—something that was not true in the defeat to Saudi Arabia or for much of the edgy win over Mexico.
“We knew that we could play better in the second game,” said midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who scored the opener. “We managed to find that calm. Today it was a great game. We played really well collectively.”
Hassan Ammar/AP
There perhaps wasn’t quite the frenetic quality of the match against Mexico, but the sense of anxiety slowly ratcheting up was palpable. Argentina had had nine shots to Poland’s two by halftime, including a highly controversial penalty, and yet the score was still 0–0. There was almost a sense that Poland had been so poor, so outplayed, that it was making Argentina’s nerves worse, particularly after Messi had missed from the spot.
Perhaps the penalty was soft. Mac Allister had laid in Julián Álvarez, who had recovered when his initial shot was saved by Szczęsny to cross to the back post where Messi took a hand in the face from the Polish goalkeeper. The question was whether Szczęsny had got fingers to the ball before making contact with Messi. After a VAR check, referee Danny Makkelie gave a penalty, which only led to more debate. The replays, frankly, were not conclusive, and goalkeepers often get away with that sort of challenge when the ball is in the vicinity. But it turned out not to matter. Messi stepped up, hit his penalty at about mid-goal height well inside the post and saw Szczęsny beat it away.
Had the stalemate continued after halftime, had news broken of a goal in the other game in the group, perhaps the pressure would have become too much. The stadium was awash with blue and white, but support like that can become a burden. But within a minute of the restart, Mac Allister had arrived onto Nahuel Molina’s cut-back and scuffed a shot just inside the far post for his first international goal. He may never get a more important one.
A second came midway through the half, the hugely promising 21-year-old Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernández slipped in Álvarez, who clipped a precise finish into the top corner. Significantly, it was two players who hadn’t started against Saudi Arabia who combined.
“We used to play with the same lineup more or less,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “But then some were injured—it’s reassuring to know we can use all players depending on the game.”
And that, perhaps, is the key detail. After going 36 games unbeaten and apparently arriving in fine form, Argentina is reinventing itself as it goes along. Perhaps that is a necessary process, and for now it seems to be going well, but it’s an edge-of-the seat way to go about things. Then again, perhaps that suits Argentina. It certainly suits its group.