Poland moved top of Group C at the Qatar World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in which Robert Lewandowski netted his first World Cup goal and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved a penalty.
Robert Lewandowski has scored 600 goals in his career, but on Saturday the Polish legend created history by scoring his first goal in a World Cup during his team's 2-0 win against Saudi Arabia at the Al Rayyan stadium.
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI, YOU ROCK MY WORLD! 🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱
pic.twitter.com/TwCNS1neyL
During the high-octane Group C clash, Mohamed Kanno nearly gave Saudi Arabia the lead in the 14th minute after drawing a fantastic save from Szczesny with a strong effort.
After Lewandowski's deft cutback, Piotr Zielinski shot into the roof of the net in the 40th minute, breaking the score somewhat against the flow of play.
When Krystian Bielik was found to have fouled Saleh Alshehri in the box, Saudi Arabia was subsequently given a penalty. Salem Al-Dawsari attempted to take the shot, but was stopped by an outstanding Szczesny save. The goalie then made an exceptional save on the rebound, sparking massive jubilation among Polish fans.
During the second half, Szczesny was once more required to make a save to deny Salem Al-Dawsari from close range before Feras missed an excellent opportunity by hitting the post.
Arkadiusz Milik then nearly doubled Poland's lead down the other end, but his header struck the crossbar. Lewandowski then hit the post with a shot.
After robbing Abdulelah Almalki on the edge of the Saudi Arabia box, Lewandowski did score his first World Cup goal in the 82nd minute, slotting the ball past the goalkeeper for a 2-0 score. In the 90th minute, the Barcelona striker had another opportunity to score, but Mohammed Alowais saved it well.
GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL! 🇵🇱 ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI GETS HIS FIRST CAREER WORLD CUP GOAL!!!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 💙❤️
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)"GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL! 🇵🇱 ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI GETS HIS FIRST CAREER WORLD CUP GOAL!!!!!" tweeted Lewandowski's current club Barcelona.
With a goal against Saudi Arabia, the former Bayern Munich legend took his goal tally for Poland to 77, which is as many career international goals as the Brazilian legend Pele.
Robert Lewandowski has now scored as many career international goals as Pelé' 👏 pic.twitter.com/tFShAWPTgh
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC)"Legend in a wrong team," noted one fan after Lewandowski scored his first World Cup goal, while another added, "Top 10 CF of all time and it's not even a debate."
A third fan commented, "So happy for him. What a massive talent!" while a fourth enthusiast stated, "Benzema didn't get his first yet."
Here's a look at some of the other reactions:
Legend in a wrong team . https://t.co/f154SUvdRv
— henna (@Jnanagnee)Top 10 CF of all time and it's not even a debate. https://t.co/4bDqQ2rSTV
— Niro (@pixel_savant)So happy for him. What a massive talent! https://t.co/erYyqyneMD
— Beau Baldwin (@beaubaldwin)benzema didn't get his first yet😭😭😭 https://t.co/u4izN64k4m
— 🧔🏻♀️🇪🇸 (@kkkouba)🇵🇱 breaks his World Cup curse 🏆 pic.twitter.com/8o9DI8TV5t
— 433 (@433)Saudi Arabia was so busy searching for Messi that they forgot about Lewandowski.
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball)Robert Lewandowski scores his first ever goal at a World Cup, in his 5th appearance in the competition.
He now has 77 goals for Poland.
Ice-cool finish. 🧊 pic.twitter.com/TzK9L9S3kU
It’s ’s world and we’re just living in it 🇵🇱⚽️ pic.twitter.com/8EomhG9igk
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN)You can’t keep the greats quiet for too long. gets his goal and is very emotional in his celebration.
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker)Lewandowski has scored 635 career goals. Broken numerous records. But he’s never been this emotional pic.twitter.com/8kAh8mwnwe
— The Football Index 🎙 ⚽ (@TheFootballInd)Lewandowski has taken the revenge of Messi 🐐🤭 pic.twitter.com/mKBiisozII
— Ndubueze Prince Chiagoziem (@NdubuezePrince5)ENOUGH TO MAKE A GROWN MAN CRY pic.twitter.com/14uh53XIpM
— 𝙲𝚕𝚒𝚚𝚞𝚎 (@chlovrine)lewandowski crying after scoring his first goal in a world cup for his country, this is what football is about 🥺 pic.twitter.com/7Ma2hnBr7q
— rocco 🇪🇸🏴 (@roccoleclerc)Robert Lewandowski is NOT FROM THIS WORLD!!!
Season Stats:
26 G/A in total this season (19⚽️7🅰️)
23 G/A in CLUB. (18⚽️5🅰️)
LEWANDOWSKI FIRST GOAL AND ASSIST IN THE WORLD CUP!
THANK YOU IDOLO! TOP OF THE GROUP! WE ARE ALIVE!
BEST IN THE WORLD.
CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/GAPYiSMA0d