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Football

26th Nov 2022

Saudi fan switch allegiances after Lewandowski’s first World Cup goal

Simon Lloyd

Fickle stuff

Robert Lewandowski finally has his first goal at a World Cup finals. After seeing his penalty saved in Poland’s opening goal against Mexico, the Barcelona striker kept his head to capitalise on a defensive error to seal a crucial win against Saudi Arabia.

The goal clearly meant a lot to him, too, with the 34-year-old breaking down in tears as he celebrated with teammates.

Up in the stands, footage also showed the goal being enjoyed – somewhat bizarrely – by a Saudi supporter… who then proceeded to remove his green shirt to reveal a Poland shirt complete with Lewandowski’s name and number on the back. Fickle stuff.

The video has been widely shared in the time since.

Lewnadowski’s goal capped an important win for Poland. After their incredible opening game win over Argentina, Saudi Arabia had been on top for the early stages of the game before Poland took the lead against the run of play via Napoli’s Piotr Zieliński.

Saudi could have equalised before half-time after they were awarded a penalty, but an impressive double-save from Wojciech Szczęsny preserved Poland’s lead.

Defeat for Argentina in their game against Mexico later in the day will almost certainly see them eliminated from the World Cup before the knockout stages even begin.

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