"Agent Orange" Netherlands reaches World Cup ticket, Poland's dream ends

A draw away from home would give them a huge advantage, so Ronald Koeman's Netherlands team entered the match in Warsaw with a cautious mindset. Poland, on the other hand, knew very well that they had to win to have the right to decide for themselves, and the match was exciting from the first minutes.

Poland missed a golden opportunity against the Netherlands

In the second minute, the audience at Stadion Narodowy had to hold their heads in regret when Matty Cash crossed the ball and the unmarked player Nicola Zalewski shot over the crossbar from close range. This escape situation made the Netherlands play slower and control the ball. The Dutch strikers just lacked sharpness in attack.

Jakub Kaminski (13) is happy after opening the score

This tactic cost the 'Orange Storm'. Just minutes before half-time, Poland launched a exemplary counter-attack. Jakub Kaminski passed the ball to Robert Lewandowski and the Barcelona star showed his European class by pressing, turning and cleverly passing the ball to Kaminski himself. The Cologne striker calmly finished past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to give Poland a 1-0 lead.

Depay and the Netherlands extinguish the joy

The home team's joy did not last long. Immediately after the break, the Netherlands had a strong response. In the 47th minute, goalkeeper Kamil Grabara made a miraculous save from Donyell Malen's header, but the ball bounced right to Memphis Depay.

Not missing the opportunity, Depay fired a decisive shot to level the score at 1-1. This was Depay's eighth goal in this qualifying campaign and the former Man United star's 53rd goal in the Netherlands national team.

Memphis Dep[ay (10) equalized for the Netherlands in the second half

After conceding the goal, Poland were desperate for a chance to take the lead and Lewandowski continued to be a constant threat, with a close-range shot narrowly deflected. The home side pressed hard until the end, but goalkeeper Verbruggen was quick to block Michał Skoras' shot.

The draw brought joy and sadness to both sides.

The 1-1 result remained until the end of the match. With a gap of 4 points and an extremely "huge" goal difference (19 compared to 6 of Poland), and only an "easy" match with Lithuania at home early next week, coach Ronald Koeman's team is almost certain to secure a ticket to the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Poland only has hope of competing for a play-off spot

As for Poland, their hopes of a third successive World Cup have been dealt a major blow. Now, fans can only hope for a successful conclusion in the fateful play-offs.

Group G situation before the final match

German "tank" has not reached the finish line yet

Two important goals by Nick Woltemade against host Luxembourg were only enough to help Germany gain 3 more points in the penultimate match of Group A. In the same match, Slovakia struggled to win 1-0 against Northern Ireland to have the same 12 points as Germany after 5 matches.

Nick Wolemade continues to score for Germany

The two sides will meet directly in a "life and death battle" in the early morning of November 18 to decide the only ticket of Group A to attend the 2026 World Cup, the losing team will compete in the play-off. Germany has the home field advantage to try to "avenge" the 0-2 defeat in the first leg in September.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/loc-da-cam-ha-lan-cham-tay-ve-world-cup-ba-lan-het-mo-mong-196251115072908431.htm