With ‘Memo’ Ochoa as a hero. Mexico and Poland equalized 0-0 in their debut in the Qatar World Cup.
The Aztec goalkeeper was decisive by saving a penalty against the Polish striker and emblem, Robert Lewandowski, in the 57th minute.
Mexico crashed (0-0) against a tough Poland in the first day of Group C, played at the 974 Stadium in Doha, and missed the surprising defeat of Argentina, although it could even lose if Lewandowski had scored from 12 steps.
With the handbrake put on by that historic defeat (1-2) of Argentina against Saudi Arabia, a country that decreed a holiday for the feat, Mexico and Poland faced styles without taking risks in a struggle in which Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino’s men deserved more for push than for chances and play.
The ‘Tricolor’, with the possession football of the ‘Tata’ Martino school that led him to the Barça bench. Opposite, a crouching, ultra-defensive Poland, with a scheme of 5 in the rear and in search of a withering counter that would culminate Robert Lewandowski’s ‘Golden Boot’, betraying that generation led by Zbigniew Boniek and Lato who dazzled with their game of hall in the World-wide one of Spain’82 of the Naranjito.
The world upside down. The ball was from Mexico, who had a couple of options in a header from Alexis Vega and a shot from Jorge Sánchez that put Szczesny in some trouble to take the lead before the break of a duel conditioned by the previous setback of Argentina by Leo Messi.
Instead, Poland shook the game with an error. A VAR penalty committed against Lewandowski was not scored -the third to make a mistake with his team- in the 58th minute by the Barça striker, who continued without scoring in a World Cup and caused Mexico to feed its morale and occasions encouraged by the stoppage of the veteran, 37 years on the card, Francisco Guillermo Ochoa.
MEMOO ????????
He saved Lewandowski a penalty to maintain equality in the match ⚽.
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— DSports (@DSports) November 22, 2022
Czeslaw Michniewicz’s group seemed to raise the pressure line, but it was a mirage. His team seemed to build a wall with the 974 recycled containers used in the construction of the removable stadium that will be history after the World Cup, and entrenched themselves behind in defense of the tie.
Mexico tried with their heart, but neither their legs nor football were on their side in the final stretch. After the defeat of Argentina, Saudi Arabia is the leader of the group and those of ‘Tata’ will play their first ‘final’ in Qatar 2022 against Messi and company next Saturday (8:00 p.m.) in Lusail.
For his part, an absent Lewandowski, far removed from the one who dazzled at Bayern Munich, will continue trying to launch his resume as a goalscorer in a World Cup against the Saudis a few hours earlier (2:00 p.m.), and improve a version that he removed today in his chair to his compatriots Boniek and Lato.
