Coach Deschamps warned Lewandowski
* France - Poland: 10pm today 4/12, on MetaSports.
"Lewandowski uses his body very effectively and finishes well," Deschamps said at a pre-match press conference at Al Thumama Stadium. "Lewandowski may not receive many balls, but just one situation is enough for him to score. We both understand how dangerous Lewandowski is."
According to the 54-year-old coach, the French players will not focus on Lewandowski, but need to prevent the ball from going to the position of the Polish captain striker. "With a striker like that, you have to try to limit his influence in the game, because Lewandowski receives as little ball as possible," said Deschamps.
Captain Hugo Lloris also said that France must control Lewandowski. According to the 35-year-old goalkeeper, Lewandowski is one of the best strikers in the world and very important to Poland. He thinks that Poland will defend and play persistently and wait for Lewandowski to make the difference.
Before the 2022 World Cup, Lewandowski ranked first in both scoring (76 goals) and appearances (134 games) in Poland's history, but none of those goals were scored at the World Cup. In the opening match against Mexico, he even missed the penalty kick. It was not until the 136th match that the 34th striker broke the "curse", scoring a 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia.
Lewandowski has only had seven shots in his three group stage games, averaging 2.3 shots per game. This figure was 3.92 shots per game when he played for Barca in La Liga. This reflects that the 34-year-old striker did not receive much support when he was recruited. However, according to coach Deschamps, Poland has defended well through three group stage matches and has a seasoned team, with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, midfielder Kamil Glik or Lewandowski. "We have to respect what Poland did. They deserve to be in the round of 16," he said.
The group stage of the 2022 World Cup witnessed many surprises, when Germany and Belgium were eliminated early, while Spain and Argentina respectively lost to Japan and Saudi Arabia with the same score 1-2. France also lost to Tunisia 0-1 in the last round, in the match they only used the reserve team because they had already won tickets to the next round.
Therefore, Deschamps asked the French team to focus on the last seconds. He said: "Surprises can always happen. Today, even teams that are judged to be superior, if not ready, can fail. Any match at the World Cup is difficult, when the teams are all prepared. He's good and ready. The players are all playing in the top leagues."
Lewandowski faded when Poland did not have a shot on target in the final round of the group stage, losing 0-2 to Argentina. According to coach Czeslaw Michniewicz, teammates need to better support the captain striker. "It's definitely a problem. We pass difficult in easy situations, and we don't create enough chances for Lewandowski. Strikers like Lewandowski need to be close to the box," he emphasized.
