The Argentina National Soccer Team maintained its chances of winning the World Cup in Qatar 2022 by earning a resounding victory against Poland in their last meeting in the group stage. Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez scored for Argentina in the second half to lead them to a 2-0 win over Poland in a game Argentina absolutely needed to win.
However, the most commented part of the game was Lionel Messi’s shot from a penalty kick that he did not convert. When Wojciech Szczesny saved Lionel Messi’s penalty in Argentina, he wrote a historic chapter in Poland’s rivalry with Argentina.
The event that led to the imposition of the penalty occurred in the 39th minute of the game when Szczesny brought Messi down by bringing him down during an aerial challenge.
The Polish goalkeeper corrected his previous mistake by preventing Lionel Messi’s penalty kick from going in. He is the first player in FIFA World Cup history to save two penalty kicks, and he does so while captaining Argentina.
FIFA World Cup 2022: Messi was the only player to miss two of his three penalty kicks
Also read: Argentina vs Poland: Lionel Messi reacts to the qualification of the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup
During the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi was the only player to miss two of his three penalty kicks. This is a player record dating back to at least the year 1966. Two of Asamoah Gyan’s four attempts were unsuccessful.
For his part, Wojciech Szczesny became just the second goalkeeper in the history of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to save a penalty after conceding one previously. Only two other goalkeepers, an American and a Pole, have been able to successfully block two non-shootout penalties at the same World Cup.
These goalkeepers are Brad Friedel (2002) and Jan Tomaszewski (1974), from the United States and Poland, respectively. After suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia, but narrowly managing a victory over Mexico, Argentina needed a remarkable effort from Lionel Messi to reach the knockout stage.
In Argentina’s opening match at the Qatar 2022 World Cup against Saudi Arabia, the PSG superstar scored in the shocking 2-1 loss. However, she missed her previous attempt in a 2018 1-1 draw with Iceland.
The match between Argentina and Poland was billed as a battle
Also read: Argentina vs Poland: Lionel Messi praises Argentina after qualifying for the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup
He moved to the goalkeeper’s right at this point, but Hannes Halldorsson made the right judgment and deflected the ball safely. Argentina won 2-0 and took first place in Group D after scoring twice in the second half to make up for their loss to Poland.
The match between Argentina and Poland was billed as a battle between Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski, but Lionel Messi played poorly in the decisive match. In the end, the Argentina captain felt a sense of relief despite the fact that he had missed a penalty kick for the second consecutive World Cup.
Mac Allister scored the winning goal a minute into the second half, taking advantage of a pass from Nahuel Molina. This goal broke the deadlock. Julián Álvarez, who started the game in place of Lautaro Martínez, scored the game-winner with a shot that curled into the top corner 67 minutes into the game.
Mexico advanced to the round of 16 with a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia, but they were knocked out of the competition because they had a lower goal differential than Poland and Argentina.
