A 2-0 victory over Sweden books Poland’s ticket to Qatar.
New England Revolution striker Adam Buksa and the Polish National Team took the field for one of their most important matches as they hosted Sweden in the Path B Final. Fans packed inside Stadion Śkąski as they hoped to see Poland punch their ticket to Qatar for the 2022 World Cups later this year.
Poland received a bye to the Path B final after their semifinal match against Russia was canceled after Russia received a ban from competing due to its attack on Ukraine. Sweden made the Path B final after a 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic, thanks to Robin Quaison’s goal in extra time.
Adam Buksa started the game on the bench as Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski looked to get the job done in the attack.
Although it was an action-packed 45 minutes of action, neither side was able to get on the board as they entered the locker room tied 0-0.
Poland’s first scoring opportunity came in the 48th minute as midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak was taken down inside the penalty area by Jesper Karlström.
Lewandowski was the one to step up to the spot for Poland. The striker curved his run-up as he rocketed his penalty into the left side of the net as Robin Olsen dove the wrong way. The crowd inside Stadion Śkąski erupted as Lewandowski gave Poland a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute.
An unfortunate bobble by the backline turned costly for Sweden in the 72nd minute as Piotr Zieliński’s tackle lobbed the ball into the Swedish box as Zieliński turned on the jets as he darted towards the ball. Piotr Zieliński sent a rocket of a shot to the top left corner. Olsen attempted to get a hand on it, but it was too far out of his reach as the ball crashed into the back of the net. The lively crowd turned ecstatic as Poland pushed their lead to two and took one step closer to qualifying for the World Cup.
Revolution striker Adam Buksa entered the match in the 89th minute as Poland looked to burn the clock.
Sweden failed to mount a comeback as Poland qualified for their second consecutive World Cup after a 2-0 victory. Poland will look to have a better run compared to 2018. Poland failed to make it out of the group stage in 2018 as they finished last in Group H with a -3 goal differential.