Last Updated on November 29, 2022 5:10 pm by Erwin Noguera
Group C of the Qatar World Cup has great teams and some of the best players in the world, like Messi (Argentina) and Lewandowski (Poland). Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Mexico, and Poland are the members of this group, which will be exciting from start to finish. Argentina is the big favorite to qualify and, alongside Brazil, to fight for the title. Poland and Mexico will fight to win the second spot in the group, while Saudi Arabia will try to surprise. Follow our analysis of each of the teams in this group and learn all about the balanced Group C of the FIFA World Cup.
Update
Nobody could ever imagine that after the first round Argentina would be at the bottom of Group C. It is even more difficult to believe that Saudi Arabia would take the lead in such a difficult group, against world powers like Poland, Mexico, and Argentina.
The two opening games of Group C took place on Tuesday and, without a doubt, Saudi Arabia’s victory over Argentina surprised even the most optimistic fans of the Arab country.
The duel between Mexico and Poland, which involved an expectation of many goals, ended up 0-0, with a penalty missed by Lewandowski and little inspiration from the attackers of both teams.
Find out the best of the first two Group C games in our review below.
World Cup Group C: Argentina 1 x 2 Saudi Arabia
Argentina’s status as favorites may have changed after their surprise loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening Group C game.
With the penalty converted by Messi before 10′ of the first half, the Argentine fans believed that this would be an easy confrontation and that many goals would follow, but the game did not go as expected.
Argentina still had a goal disallowed at 29′ but went into the break winning 1-0. Saudi Arabia’s comeback came within 5 minutes. Al-Sheri equalized at 48′ of the 2nd half and Al-Dawsari turned the game around at 53′, forcing Argentina to risk the moves and seek the equalizer at all costs.
The Saudi Arabia team started to score even more firmly, in an attempt to maintain the result and, as a result, many of their players were shown a yellow card in the second half. Argentina suffered from the anxiety of scoring goals quickly and was unable to remain calm to draw the match.
World Cup Group C: Mexico 0 x 0 Poland
Mexico was superior for much of the game but had to rely on the talent of their goalkeeper to hold the tie. Guillermo Ochoa was responsible for saving Robert Lewandowski’s penalty, at 58′, which would give the Polish team an advantage.
Mexico had more than 60% possession and shot 11 times against the opponent’s goal. Irving Lozano was the most dangerous attacking player on the Mexican team, but the Polish defense was organized from start to finish.
Update 2
Emotions and expectations in Group C remain high after the second round, as all teams have a real chance of qualifying in this last game of the first phase.
Poland was not surprised by Saudi Arabia and scored an important 2-0, which put the European team in the lead of group C. Saudi Arabia missed a penalty in that game and was brave throughout the confrontation, but did not get better luck.
Argentina also beat Mexico by the same score, but the start of the game was disastrous for the Argentines. The Mexicans pressed hard in the first few minutes and had good chances, but it was Messi who opened the scoring, with a finish from outside the box.
Poland is the leader of the group with 4 points; Argentina (2nd) has 3 points, the same number as Saudi Arabia (3rd); Mexico (4th) has only one point, obtained in the tie with Poland in the opening game.
World Cup Group C: Poland 2 x 0 Saudi Arabia
Robert Lewandowski delivered his best World Cup performance so far, contributing a goal and an assist in the Polish team’s victory over Saudi Arabia.
Although they struggled from start to finish, Saudi Arabia’s players could not overcome super goalkeeper Szczesny, who saved many difficult shots and was the man of the match.
Salem Al-Dawsari still missed a penalty in the last minute of the first half, which could have equaled the score of the match, making the second half more favorable for the Arab team.
The task was really difficult for Saudi Arabia since they were no longer considered massive underdogs, having beaten Argentina in one of the most memorable games of the World Cup.
Qualification possibilities remain open for all four teams in Group C.
World Cup Group C: Argentina 2 x 0 Mexico
Messi and Argentina overcame early pressure from Mexico to win a tough game against an opponent determined to send Argentina’s star players home.
In this duel between Spanish speakers, the Argentines showed that their football language was more developed and opened the scoring with a beautiful shot by Messi, right at the beginning of the second half. Not even the spectacular goalkeeper Ochoa could save that shot.
Close to injury time, when Argentina had already taken control of the game, Enzo Fernández was in charge of scoring the second goal and putting an end to Mexico’s chances of a draw.
Argentina is still alive in the competition, but could still be eliminated in the group stage if they lose to Poland and Mexico beat Saudi Arabia. Many emotions are yet to come in Group C.
World Cup Group C: Argentina
Argentina arrives for the World Cup in Qatar as one of the favorite teams for the title.
The victory in the last edition of the Copa América, against Brazil, gave the team the necessary confidence to aim for great titles and face the biggest teams in the world.
This was Lionel Messi’s first title with the senior national team, which certainly took a lot of weight off the back of the Argentine star, who always played under pressure when wearing his country’s shirt.
This will be the first time Messi will play in a World Cup supported by the Argentine people, without divisions. This, as Messi’s doings in the national team weren’t enough without a title for a team as big as the Albiceleste.
In addition to Messi, Argentina has important names such as Paredes, Di Maria, and Paulo Dybala in its squad. Forwards German Cano and Angel Correa are the main absences in Argentina’s squad.
Although favorites, the Argentines will face two good teams in the group stage, making qualifying difficult and quite challenging.
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martínez, Franco Armani and Gerónimo Rulli.
Defenders: Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Germán Pezzella, Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Marcos Acuña, Nicolás Tagliafico and Juan Foyth.
Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Guido Rodríguez, Alejandro Gómez, Enzo Fernández and Exequiel Palacios.
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martínez, Ángel Di María, Julián Álvarez, Paulo Dybala, Nicolás González, and Joaquín Correa.
World Cup Group C: Mexico
Mexico arrives for the Qatar World Cup with good expectations. It brings a set of talented players and a good mix of experienced athletes and newbies to the World Cup.
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who usually stands out in World Cups, was once again called up and will defend the Mexican team under the posts.
In the 2018 edition, Mexico qualified second in the group, but faced Brazil in the round of 16 and lost 2-0, being eliminated from the competition.
In 2014, they again qualified second and lost in the round of 16, only this time to the Netherlands, 2-1.
Mexico has been doing well at the World Cup but has fallen in the round of 16 for many years now, in a streak that many already deem as a curse.
This will be a great challenge for the current generation, which has important names like Raul Jimenez, Hector Herrera, and Hirving Lozano.
Goalkeepers: Guillermo Ochoa, Alfredo Talavera and Rodolfo Cota
Defenders: Jorge Sánchez, Kevin Alvarez, Nestor Araujo, José Juan Vázquez, Hector Moreno, César Montes, Gerardo Arteaga and Jésus Gallardo.
Midfielders: Andrés Guardado, Héctor Herrera, Carlos Alberto Rodriguez, Erick Gutiérrez, Luis Chavez, Edson Alvarez, Orbelin Pineda and Luis Romo.
Forwards: Roberto Alvarado, Alexis Vega, Hirving Lozano, Raul Jimenez, Uriel Antuna, Henry Martin and Rogelio Funes Mori
World Cup Group C: Polonia
Poland arrives at the World Cup after qualifying in second place in Group J of the European qualifiers. The great name of the Polish national team is the Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski, who has already been considered the best player in the world by FIFA twice.
The team from Poland has many athletes who play in big and medium European football teams, all with good height and differentiated physical strength.
In the difficult group, they will face in the World Cup, Poland has conditions to play balanced games and dream of qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition.
In 2018, they were the last of group H, which had Colombia, Japan, and Senegal. 2022 will be another opportunity to change this sad memory of the previous edition and achieve great things, as they always make excellent qualification campaigns for international tournaments and deflate at the major stages.
Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Skorupski, e Kamil Grabara.
Defenders: Jan Bednarek, Bartosz Bereszynski, Matty Cash, Kamil Glik, Robert Gumny , Artur Jedrzejczyk, Jakub Kiwior, Mateusz Wieteska and Nicola Zalewski.
Midfielders: Krystian Bielik, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Kamil Grosicki, Jakub Kaminski, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Michal Skóras, Damian Szymanski, Sebastian Szymanski, Piotr Zielinski e Szymon Zurkowski.
Forwards: Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Krzysztof Piatek e Karol Swiderski.
World Cup Group C: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia arrives without great pretensions to the World Cup in Qatar. All of its players called up play in Saudi Arabia. This makes the team inexperienced in major international competitions, such as the World Cup.
In 2018, the team placed third in group A, which had Uruguay, Egypt, and Russia. This time, they’ll face much more powerful opponents who will try to show superiority from start to finish. It will be a huge challenge for them.
Goalkeepers: Mohammed Al-Owais, Mohammed Al Rubaie, Nawaf Al-Aqidi
Defenders: Yasser Al-Shahrani, Mohammed Al-Breik, Ali Al-Bulaihi, Sultan Al-Ghanam , Saud Abdulhamid, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Hassan Tambakti, Abdullah Madu
Midfielders: Fahad Al-Muwallad, Salem Al-Dawsari, Salman Al-Faraj, Abdullah Otayf, Hattan Bahebri, Mohamed Kanno, Abdulellah Al-Malki, Sami Al-Najei, Ali Al-Hassan, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Riyad Sharahili, Abdulrahman Al-Aboud
Forwards: Firas Al-Buraikan, Saleh Al-Shehri, Haitham Asiri
Classifieds
It will not be easy to define which of the two teams advanced to the round of 16 of the World Cup. Argentina is the big favorite and should pass, but Mexico and Poland have equal chances.
Due to the great quality of striker Lewandowski, and the strong and technical team of the Europeans, we believe that Poland will be the second team to qualify for Group C.
Fixture Schedule
- Tuesday, Nov. 22 Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia
- Tuesday, Nov. 22 Poland vs. Mexico
- Saturday, Nov. 26 Argentina vs. Mexico
- Saturday, Nov. 26 Saudi Arabia vs. Poland
- Wednesday, Nov. 30 Poland vs. Argentina
- Wednesday, Nov. 30 Saudi Arabia vs. Mexico
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