World Cup 2022: Poland defeat Sweden 2-0

Poland defeated Sweden 2-0 in their UEFA World Cup playoff on Tuesday night at the Silesian Stadium, securing a place in Qatar.

After a scoreless first half, Robert Lewandowski scored from the penalty spot in the 49th minute after Jesper Karlstrom fouled Grzegorz Krychowiak in the area.

The Poles battled throughout to contain a Sweden side brimming with youthful attacking vigour, but in the end, thanks to the experience of Lewandowski and his teammates, they capitalised on the visitors’ mistakes.

The visitors threw caution to the wind and poured forward, with Szczesny getting down well again to deny Emil Forsberg, and Victor Lindelof sending the resulting corner just wide with a glancing header.

Sweden appeared to be the most likely to score as they sought an equalizer, but a lapse in the visiting defense allowed Piotr Zielinski to break free on goal and curl a tidy shot past Robin Olson at his near post to double Poland’s lead.

The Swedes brought in record goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the final 10 minutes, but the Polish defense held firm in front of a capacity crowd to book their place in the World Cup finals.

Poland will find out who their group opponents will be when FIFA holds the 2022 World Cup draw on Friday.

Source: Reuters