With a place in the FIFA World Cup 2022 knockout stages on the line, Argentina and Poland took on each other at Stadium 974 in Doha today.

For the majority of the first half, it was Argentina, led by PSG superstar and former Barcelona captain Lionel Messi, who controlled the proceedings against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland.

And La Albiceleste were handed the perfect opportunity to take a lead in the first half when they were awarded a dubious-looking penalty by the referee following a collision between Messi and Wojciech Szczesny.

Up stepped Messi, who had already scored from the spot in the World Cup against Saudi Arabia, against Szczesny, who intriguingly, had stopped a penalty against Saudi Arabia in Poland’s last match.

And it was the former Arsenal goalkeeper who came out on top in his duel with Messi, as he pulled off a top save to ensure that the Argentina captain did not score his third goal of the 2022 World Cup five minutes before half-time.

So, as things stand, both teams are still unseparated but Lewandowski and Poland will need to up their game after the break. Meanwhile, Messi will have to leave the missed penalty behind him and stay focused on leading Argentina to the knockout stages.

Source: Barcauniversal