For Argentina, the 2022 World Cup was supposed to be Lionel Messiās swan song;instead, the Paris Saint Germain forward has had a mostly disappointing experience.La Albicelesteās first Group Stage game was a humbling loss to Saudi Arabia, but theyrebounded with a 2-0 win against Mexico, with Messi scoring the first goal.
As a result, Argentina still havea shot at making it to the next stage despite having only one game remaining to play. They arecurrently sitting in second place in Group C with three points, one behind the leaders Poland. On the other side, there is Robert Lewandowski\ who scored Polandās second goal in their 2-0 win against Saudi Arabia on Saturday, making it his first World Cup goal at the age of 34.
The Barcelona forward made up for his penalty miss in the scoreless draw with Mexico. After Piotr Zielinski had given the Eagles the lead on the stroke of halftime, he finished the game off by capitalizing on a defensive mistake.The Polishdefensive prowess has been on display in Qatar so far. They are one of only two teams in their group without a goal conceded after two games.
Why is Argentinaās Paulo Dybala starting on the bench againstPoland?
Paulo Dybala was doubtful to play for Qatar 2022 after missing eight games with a hamstring injury for Roma. In the Giallorossiās 1-1 draw with Torino in their last match before the World Cup break, though, he made a brief return as a substitute.
Nevertheless, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni included the 29-year-oldon the teamās World Cup squad. However, Dybala is yet to play in Qatar, starting on the bench in both matches against Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
While discussing Dybalaās lack of playing time in a news conference, Scaloni assured reporters that the Roma striker was not hurt:āIf he is out, itās only a tactical decision. Paulo is fine, he is supporting the group from the outside.Obviously, he would like to play more, but itās not certain that this wonāt happen in the next World Cup matches.ā
