FIFA 2022: Poland & Argentina Get Into Knockouts, Mexico Crash Out Fighting

Doha: Last night at the FIFA world cup was a dramatic night considering the qualifying scenarios that the teams were under. While the Mexicans were aware that they needed three goals, Poland had a three-goal cushion.

Mexico were battling a Saudi Arabia which had recently crushed Argentina. Poland were up against a Messi-ful Argentina.

On one side, despite suffering a loss in their game against Argentina by a margin of 2 goals, Poland ended up qualifying for the Round of 16. On the other side, Mexico fought till the last minute but crashed out of the world cup, scoring two and in search of a third.

But the drama that surrounded the second halves of both games—the combinations and permutations that were being tried and then rejected as each score and each save altered the circumstances—was unmatched by any other World Cup group.

Though neither team gave up, neither game had a goal at the half. In the 39th minute, Lionel Messi got a penalty that he missed. Even though it was generally agreed upon that the shot was good, Wojciech Szczesny was able to stop it just in time. Even a well-hit shot at the goalkeeper’s left from mid-range is not a statistically sound penalty to take.