Poland vs. Germany: Winners and Losers from Euro 2016 Qualifier
Poland made history on Saturday—their 2-0 win over Germany in Warsaw representing their first win against their rivals in 19 attempts.
Arkadiusz Milik opened the scoring against the run of play in the 51st minute, and with only two minutes remaining in the second half Sebastian Mila put the finishing touches on a memorable night in the Polish capital with a fine finish inside the far post.
Germany, who dominated possession and enjoyed a decisive territorial advantage throughout the encounter, simply couldn’t beat goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who made a handful of spectacular saves when the guests weren’t missing the target altogether.
Poland are now top of Euro 2016 qualification Group D with six points from two matches, while Germany are joint-third in the table with Scotland.
Following are some of the winners and losers from Saturday’s match.
Winner: Wojciech Szczesny, Who Was Heroic in Goal for Poland
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Wojciech Szczesny’s performance against Germany will go down in the annals of Polish football as one of the country’s finest ever goalkeeping displays.
The Arsenal man made eight saves on Saturday—many of which were of the highlight-reel variety.
Crucially, the 24-year-old denied Mario Gotze and Andre Schurrle in quick succession after Arkadiusz Milik’s opener, and in the 68th minute he helped preserve Poland’s lead with a spectacular stop on Karim Bellarabi, by whom he was tested on at least four other occasions.
Losers: Thomas Muller, Andre Schurrle and Germany’s Finishing, Generally
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After starting the match well and looking a threat in front of goal through much of the first half, Thomas Muller gradually faded from the encounter and failed to place a single shot on target after the restart.
Andre Schurrle, too, will have expected more from himself, as he rarely did much with the openings he created, or with those that were created for him.
And Karim Bellarabi, despite impressing on his debut for Germany, simply couldn’t beat Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who was in unstoppable form on Saturday.
Winner: Arkadiusz Milik, Who Scored the Historic Winner
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Arkadiusz Milik took his goal well—latching onto Lukasz Piszczek’s arching ball and heading it up and over Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who had made a rare mistake in coming out to deal with the danger.
But the goal, which proved the winner in Poland’s first ever victory against Germany, was just the icing on the cake for Milik, who had been a positive contributor to that point and would continue to be so until his withdrawal in the 77th minute.
There wasn’t a loose ball the 20-year-old didn’t fancy on Saturday, and while he hunted down lost causes in attack he frequently lent a hand in defense as well.
Loser: Lukas Podolski, Whose International Career Is Winding Down
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Lukas Podolski quite nearly restored level terms when he hit the woodwork shortly after coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute.
But that was the veteran attacker’s biggest contribution in his cameo appearance, and given the younger, better options at Germany manager Joachim Low’s disposal, it’s unlikely he’ll see many meaningful minutes between now and his inevitable international retirement.
Now 29-years-old, Podolski’s best days as a Germany international—such as the 2006 World Cup—are well and truly behind him, and he can expect nothing more than a bit-part role from here.
Karim Bellarabi, for example, worked his way up the pecking order with a promising performance in Warsaw.
Winner: Robert Lewandowski, Who Put in a Complete Performance
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Robert Lewandowski was the captain of the Poland side that beat Germany for the first time in the country’s history, and it was a true captain’s performance put forward by the striker on Saturday.
Although he didn’t find the back of the net, the Bayern Munich man routinely stretched the Germany defense with his pace and dribbling ability, and his contributions on the defensive side of the ball were impressive as well. A track-back resulting in a tackle on Christoph Kramer stands out.
But the 26-year-old’s biggest play of the night came with 13 minutes remaining, when he slid the ball to Sebastian Mila for the insurance marker.
Losers: Scotland and the Republic of Ireland
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As if Group D wasn’t difficult enough, it became rather more convoluted after Poland took all three points off Germany on Saturday.
Scotland and the Republic of Ireland would have surely preferred Germany to run away with the group, allowing them the chance to go after Poland, themselves. Scotland, for example, face the table-toppers next week.
But suddenly Poland have thrown down the gauntlet, and only two of themselves, Scotland and Ireland will get into the top three places.
