LIVE: Mexico, Poland Trade Chances in Goalless Deadlock
With Argentina dropping points in Group C, neither El Tri nor Poland managed to secure a lead in an energetic first half.
After a shocking result in Group C’s first match at the 2022 World Cup, Mexico and Poland are battling for control of the group in a back-and-forth opener for both teams in Qatar.
The presumption entering the World Cup was that Argentina, which entered on a 36-match unbeaten streak, would coast by Saudi Arabia at the very least, placing additional pressure on Mexico and Poland to win their head-to-head matchup. But with Argentina falling, both sides are fighting to get out ahead of Messi & Co. and build toward advancement—with Mexico seeking an eighth straight spot in the round of 16 (it has fallen in each of the last seven World Cups at that stage).
Tuesday’s game started with plenty of pace with Mexico controlling the tempo while Poland looked to strike on the counterattack. In the fifth minute, Hirving Lozano roamed the wing and sent in a dangerous chance that found Alexis Vega at the back post, but Vega was unable to put a proper touch on it.
Héctor Moreno had a quality chance for Mexico in the 14th minute when he rose for an open header, but he sent the chance over the ball and was later called for offside.
Vega came close to giving El Tri the lead in the 26th minute when Héctor Herrera sent a dangerous looping cross into the area for Vega to head, but the header just fell wide of the far post.
Neither side managed to log a shot on target throughout much first half although there was plenty of action. By the 44th minute, Mexico fans serenaded El Tri with chants of “Olé” as the team passed around Poland.
But in the 45th minute, Jorge Sánchez notched the first shot on target with an effort that seemed to surprise Poland keeper Wojciech Szczęsny, although the Juventus star was able to push the chance over the crossbar.
Follow along here for live updates and highlights of goals and key plays from throughout the match (refresh for most recent updates).
Here are the lineups for both teams:
Full World Cup Squads
Mexico
GOALKEEPERS: Rodolfo Cota (León), Guillermo Ochoa (Club América), Alfredo Talavera (Juárez)
DEFENDERS: Kevin Álvarez (Pachuca), Néstor Araujo (Club América), Gerardo Arteaga (Genk), Jesús Gallardo (Monterrey), César Montes (Monterrey), Héctor Moreno (Monterrey), Jorge Sánchez (Ajax), Johan Vásquez (Cremonese)
MIDFIELDERS: Edson Álvarez (Ajax), Roberto Alvarado (Chivas Guadalajara), Uriel Antuna (Cruz Azul), Luis Chávez (Pachuca), Andrés Guardado (Real Betis), Érick Gutiérrez (PSV Eindhoven), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo), Orbelín Pineda (AEK Athens), Carlos Rodríguez (Cruz Azul), Luis Romo (Monterrey)
FORWARDS: Hirving Lozano (Napoli), Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton), Henry Martín (Club América), Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey), Alexis Vega (Chivas Guadalajara)
COACH: Gerardo “Tata” Martino
Poland
GOALKEEPERS: Kamil Grabara (Copenhagen), Łukasz Skorupski (Bologna), Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus)
DEFENDERS: Jan Bednarek (Aston Villa), Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria), Matty Cash (Aston Villa), Kamil Glik (Benevento), Robert Gumny (Augsburg), Artur Jędrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Jakub Kiwior (Spezia), Mateusz Wieteska (Clermont), Nicola Zalewski (Roma)
MIDFIELDERS: Krystian Bielik (Birmingham City), Przemysław Frankowski (Lens), Kamil Grosicki (Pogon), Jakub Kaminski (Wolfsburg), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Al-Shabab), Michal Skoras (Lech Poznan), Damian Szymański (AEK Athens), Sebastian Szymański (Feyenoord), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), Szymon Żurkowski (Fiorentina)
FORWARDS: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Arkadiusz Milik (Juventus), Krzysztof Piątek (Salernitana), Karol Świderski (Charlotte FC)
COACH: Czesław Michniewicz