All eyes will be on Saudi Arabia in the second match at the FIFA World Cup on Saturday when they look to build on their epic win over Argentina in their opening game when they take on Poland in Group C.
Saudi Arabia stunned the world when they came from behind to bloody the noses of Lionel Messi and co on Tuesday and they know if they can find another win against Poland they will be through. Poland will put themselves in a great position with a win of their own.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on ITV 1 in the UK. The build-up to this one gets started at 12 moon with the kick off coming an hour later at 1pm.
Poland
Poland got their tournament off to an unbeaten start when they picked up a 0-0 draw with Mexico but they would have had differing emotions at the end of it. I would imagine when they were preparing for the tournament they would have identified the opening game as one they would be happy not to lose before looking to win this match and seeing where it leaves them, but having missed a penalty against Mexico they might feel they missed a huge chance to make things a lot easier for them.
Although they missed that penalty, I wasn’t particularly impressed with Poland in that opening game. They looked quite passive and negative and never really looked to get Robert Lewandowski in the game for any real periods. They were able to keep things tight at the back but you would imagine they are going to need to show a lot more ambition if they are going to come out on top in this one. That will mean getting many more men around Lewandowski.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia have had the most incredible high they could have dreamed of already in this tournament when they stunning Argentina and the world who were watching but in many ways this could be a bigger challenge for them because they have to come down to earth and then get themselves back up again. We see across every sport going that emotions are difficult things to manage for the most experienced at it let alone those who probably don’t get those moments too often.
The good thing for Saudi Arabia is that their win over Argentina wasn’t undeserved or a fluke. They hunted in packs, pressed the right players in the right area and when they got the ball because they defended so high up they had players who could hurt Argentina in the attacking areas. The video of Herve Renard’s half time dressing down of his players shows how much respect he has as a coach and also how he has that style engrained into this squad and if they can manage their emotions there is no reason why we can’t see them pulling off another surprise result.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for this tournament! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
Poland are running the eye over both Krystian Bielik and Bartosz Bereszynski ahead of this match after they both picked up injuries in the draw with Mexico. Arkadiusz Milik came off the bench in that match and will hope for a start.
Saudi Arabia are definitely going to be without defender Yasser Al Shahrani for this match as he sustained nasty facial wounds in a collision with his goalkeeper in the win over Argentina on Tuesday. Salman Al Faraj is also said to be a doubt.
Betting
I think we’re in for a low scoring game here. Saudi Arabia shocked the world when they took care of Argentina on Tuesday but now they have to back that up. In order to be able to do that and perform well again they are going to have to deal with the inevitable comedown from that win and it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if they are a little flat in this match. For all that win was incredible, they only registered an xG of 0.16 and now that they have that win they might decide the bus belongs in a parking spot in front of goal as two draws will put them into the knockout stages.
I said before the first Poland game that they just don’t convince me in tournament play and I didn’t see anything in that match with Mexico to change my mind. They only put together a 0.80 xG display in that 0-0 draw and that included a large chunk for a penalty so basically both these teams struggled to create chances. Poland probably have to win this game so that might see them open up at some point but you wouldn’t think that will come until late in the day and if they do go ahead they’ll definitely drop anchor so under 2.25 goals looks the way forward here with a small nibble on no goalscorer, a bet that has landed five times in 20 matches in this tournament to date including in the Poland opener.
Tips
Back Under 2.25 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.92 with Bet365
Back No Goalscorer for a 1/10 stake at 9.00 with Betfred
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
