The Argentinians thrashed the Poles throughout the match and practically did not let them do anything, Robert Lewandowski et al. but even after a 0:2 defeat, they were able to celebrate progress in the end, thanks to a better score of one goal compared to Mexico. Szczesny became the key to progress, who was nevertheless sure that there would be no penalty after hitting Messi in the face with his hand.
Only VAR had to assess the ambiguous situation, the whole stadium was tensely waiting for his verdict. “I spoke to Messi before the penalty. I told him that I would bet 100 euros that the referee would not award a penalty. So I ended up losing the bet,” the Polish goalkeeper admitted in an interview with Norwegian TV2.
Editing of the World Cup match Poland – ArgentinaVideo: Czech television
“It’s probably not legal to bet during the World Cup, so I’ll probably be punished, but I don’t care now,” laughed the Juventus goalkeeper in the euphoria of the promotion.
“And I won’t even pay Messi anything. I think he doesn’t care about 100 euros, right?” continued Szczesna in a relieved spirit.
But he was understandably very happy about his successful operation. “It’s nice to take a penalty from one of the best players of all time. For a goalkeeper, it’s probably the best thing he can experience, it’s a particularly good feeling at the World Cup,” he gloated.
Messi failed at an important moment, but in the end he and his team could rejoice at the progress. “I’m upset that I didn’t give the penalty, but our team was even stronger after my mistake. I knew that once we scored the first goal, it would change the whole game,” Messi said after the match.
Argentina will meet Australia in the round of 16, the Poles will challenge the defending champions from France.
