Poland vs Argentina: 2022 World Cup, Group Stage Match Preview, and Dream11 Predictions

Poland vs Argentina is next as Argentina have a chance to claim top spot in Group D when they take on Poland in the World Cup on Wednesday.

Match Details:

• Location: Doha, Qatar
• Stadium: Stadium 974
• Date: Wednesday 1st December
• Kick-off time: 12:30 AM IST
• Watch: Sports 18/HD, Jio Cinema App.

Poland vs Argentina: Match Preview:

Poland's Robert Lewandowski was the villain on matchday one as he saw a tame penalty saved in the 0-0 draw with Mexico, before redemption as he claimed his first ever World Cup goal in the 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia.

Lionel Messi scored his penalty in Argentina's first game, though was unable to stop his team from suffering a humiliating 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, but then his exquisite strike set La Albiceleste on their way to a 2-0 win against Mexico.

These two superstars will surely be front and centre when they clash in their final game of Group C on Wednesday.

Victory for either will confirm their passage to the knockout stage, with a draw also good enough for the Poles.

A defeat would eliminate Argentina, with a draw leaving them sweating on the outcome of Saudi Arabia v Mexico.

History could be on their side, though, with their last meeting at a World Cup coming in 1978, where Argentina won 2-0 before going on to lift the trophy for the first time (Poland won their only other World Cup clash 3-2 in 1974).

Lionel Scaloni's men will have their work cut out though, with Poland having kept a clean sheet in each of their last three World Cup games, including both in Qatar so far despite facing 27 shots (nine on target).

Poland are looking to qualify from their World Cup group for the first time since the 1986 tournament under Antoni Piechniczek, and they last went unbeaten in all three matches in their first round group in 1982.

Following his match-winning performance against Mexico, Messi said: "Another World Cup started for us today… We can't give up now; we have finals from this point on and can't make a mistake."

Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said after Lewandowski's maiden World Cup strike "one player will not win the match alone". He could be right, but if ever there were a contest to prove whether he is, it might just be this one.

Team News:

Poland:

Robert Lewandowski finally scored his first ever goal at a World Cup in Poland's win over Saudi Arabia and will be called upon to add more to that tally if his nation are to beat Argentina.

Czeslaw Michniewicz opted to play Arkadiusz Milik alongside Lewandowski against Saudi Arabia, which seemed to do the trick in unlocking their talisman. Escaping the victory without any fresh injury concerns, expect them to proceed again with a similar setup.

Argentina:

Having heard that Kylian Mbappe had equalled his World Cup goal tally earlier in the day, Lionel Messi just had to score against Mexico to keep himself at the top of the tree. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner underwhelmed until scoring, but will not hope the goal can get his tournament underway properly.

Lionel Scaloni made several changes in Argentina's second game, but they didn't all seem to work as he'd hoped. Some more re-jigging might be required as he tries to figure out his stongest XI.

Poland vs Argentina: Head to Head:

Argentina have a good record against Poland and have won six out of the 11 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Poland's three victories.

Argentina have faced Poland on two occasions in the FIFA World Cup - the Poles defeated Argentina in 1974 but the Albiceleste bounced back with a victory in 1978.

The previous meeting between the two teams took place in a friendly in 2011 and ended in a 2-1 victory for Poland.

Predicted Line-ups:

Poland starting 11 (4-4-2): Szczesny; Cash, Glik, Kiwior, Bereszynski; Zielinski, Bielik, Krychowiak, Frankowski; Milik, Lewandowski

Bench: Jedrzejczek, Wieteska, Bednarek, D. Szymanski, Grosicki, Skorupski, Kaminski, Swiderski, Zurkowski, S. Szymanski, Zalewski, Grabara, Piatek, Gumny, Skoras

Argentina starting 11 (4-4-2): Martinez; Molina, Otamendi, Martinez, Acuna; Di Maria, De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Messi, Martinez

Bench: Armani, Foyth, Tagliafico, Paredes, Pezzella, Alvarez, Rulli, Romero, Palacios, Correa, Almada, Gomez, Dybala, Rodriguez, Montiel

POL vs ARG: Dream11 Predictions:

Dream11 will be updated soon.

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