” The key to stopping Mbappé? It’s me “, explained Wojciech Szczesny, the Polish goalkeeper after his qualification for the round of 16 of the World Cup where he will face the Blues next Sunday. Because if Robert Lewandowski is the number one offensive asset of the Poles, Wojciech Szczesny is indeed the hero.
Before the confrontation lost against Argentina (0-2), he reigned over his defense, which had then conceded no goal. And it’s largely thanks to him, as he notably saved a penalty against Saudi Arabia, before getting up at lightning speed and repelling a recovery from close range.
Crazy statistics on penalties
Against Argentina, on a frankly not very obvious fault, the referee of the meeting once again designated the penalty spot. The opportunity for the Pole to laugh with Messi: * “I don’t know if it’s allowed at the World Cup, I may even be banned for it, but I don’t care. I’m not going to pay it either. Messi doesn’t care about 100 euros, I think he doesn’t need it! “, he laughed in the mixed zone after betting € 100 with the Pulga that the penalty would not be awarded after the intervention of the VAR.
But he did stop this penalty shot halfway up his left side. With this stoppage, there are 26 penalties stopped out of 61, well over one in three. Pretty phenomenal statistics. ” You can’t become heroes by scoring goals, but at least you can try to help the team, said the Warsaw native. It’s part of the job. We play the match in our head and we analyze the opponent for hours. We always analyze the penalty takers. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn’t “, he analyzed.
Unlucky in competition
Moreover, if he had not been in great shape, the Poles would probably have been eliminated since they would have taken a real suitcase against the Albiceleste. ” It was tough (…), but luckily Szczesny is in great shape “, confessed his coach Czeslaw Michniewicz. A real revenge for him.
Because so far, Szczesny had not been lucky. For Euro 2008, he broke his forearm in training, preventing him from playing the Euro in Austria and Switzerland, four years later, in Ukraine and Poland, at home, he received a red card for his first game. In 2016, he was immediately injured when in the last edition he scored against his side. This time, he is taking advantage of his competition and hopes to stop another penalty, or penalty shootout as the Poles are preparing for it, for the greater good of his country.
