Saudi Arabia fell short after an inspired display against Poland at the Education City Stadium was not sufficient to get a result. Saudi were proactive from the get-go and Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny had to make several early saves. The game was interrupted by some heavy fouling from both sides but especially the Polish, who picked up 3 yellow cards in less than 20 minutes. When Piotr Zielinski scored at the end of the counter in the 39th minute, it felt against the run of play. Just 5 minutes later, captain Salem Al-Dawsari had the opportunity to restore parity from the penalty spot. But a spectacular double save from Szczesny meant that the teams went into the break at 1-0. In the second half, Saudi Arabia continued their onslaught but repeatedly came up short in the final third. Despite having a greater share of possession, territory, and shots on the day, they could not put the ball past Szczesny. Poland also had chances on the counter in the second half and Arkadiusz Milik and Lewandowski were unfortunate to see their attempts come off the post. Lewandowski capitalised on a mistake by defender Abduelah Al Malki to seal the match in the 82nd minute.

Saudi Arabia had the chance to become the first team to qualify for the knockouts with a victory today. They are still in a strong position in the group, as victory in the last game will certainly see them through regardless of other results in the group. Argentina take on Mexico later tonight and a draw in that game would certainly strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position going into the final matchday.

The weight of history was on the Saudi team today as they had never beaten European opposition at the World Cup before. However, today’s performance showed that they are more than equipped to go toe-to-toe with the best players and teams on the planet. In Leo Messi and Lewandowski, the Green Falcons came up against two of the best to ever kick a football, and showed themselves more than equipped to deal with the challenge.