GROUP E
Spain 0-2 Poland
Lewandowski 10', 41'
Michael Grew
San Mames Barria, Bilbao, Spain
Saturday 20th June
Saturday must have seemed like it couldn’t come fast enough for Luis Enrique, who has endured an awful week as Spanish football has utterly turned in on itself. The now infamous unfurling of a Spanish flag in San Mamés Barria by captain Sergio Ramos has not left the front pages of the sports papers, or indeed any papers, since Tuesday morning, and Luis Enrique has made his frustrations plain. From Athletic Club Bilbao’s President Aitor Elizegi claiming that he expected nothing less from Ramos, to Vox leader Santiago Abascal calling for Spain to play their remaining matches in Athletico Madrid’s Metropolitano stadium (a suggestion swiftly quashed by UEFA), it has been hard to hear the voice of the national coach pleading for unity to allow his team preparation time for a tough challenge against a dangerous Polish side. Poland, by contrast, have had their own press to contend with, outraged by the manner of their collapse in the final few minutes in Dublin. Blame for throwing away a two goal cushion has been placed squarely on head coach Jerzy Brzęczek’s shoulders, with many pundits questioning the wisdom of removing danger-man Robert Lewandowski from the fray, a decision which did seem to change the game. It was, then, with some relief for both teams that on Saturday, football could once again be their sole focus. However, while Poland came back strongly, consigning Dublin’s collapse to ancient history, there was to be no respite for a Spanish side who are no doubt counting the moments until they can move on to the comfort of foreign stadiums in the knockout rounds, should they be fortunate enough to get there.
The man at the centre of the storm, Sergio Ramos, was not present in San Mames today. Enrique told journalists before kickoff that he had picked up a knock in training, but rumours of his being voluntarily removed from the fray have abounded in the media. Whatever the reason, Spain was without its captain and it showed almost immediately. 10 minutes into the encounter, a ball over the top from Kamil Grosicki reached Lewandoski. The Bayern Munich striker was too strong for Raúl Albiol, starting in place of Ramos, and he shook him off as he ran clear. De Gea had performed wonders in the opening half against the Swedes, but he was unable to stop Lewandowski’s clipped effort which nestled in the bottom right hand corner. The Polish fans went berserk at this, and a good number of fans in the Spanish stands were also seen to be clapping and grinning. Spain have few friends here anymore.
The half continued with Poland in the ascendancy. Piotr Zieliński surged forward, causing real mayhem amongst the Spanish back line. One of these runs in the 34th minute led to an opportunity to strike from the edge of the area, but the ball flew just over, the ripple of the net showing how close had come to doubling Poland’s lead.
The second goal would not evade them for long, however, and in the 41st minute Lewandowski again helped himself to a goal from the all too generous Spaniards. Busquets was dispossessed in the centre by Zieliński, who played a first time ball out onto the wing for Grosicki to chase. The winger surged past Carvajal before delivering a ball into the area. Lewandowski, despite the attention of both Albiol and Martínez, rose highest and his glancing header was enough to beat De Gea, despite the keeper getting the faintest of touches to it. Questions will no doubt be asked of the centre backs, but the truth is that few can handle Robert Lewandowski on days like today, and when he is in this sort of mood he is one of the best strikers in the world.
In the second half, Spain threw everything they had at Poland to get back into the game, with Dani Ceballos and Thiago providing the creative impetus. They found Poland’s defence far more resolute than their own had been in the first half, however, and chances were at a premium. A half chance for Morata, when a Thiago shot from distance was spilled into the area by Wojciech Szczęsny, provided some excitement for those in the stadium who were actually backing the home side. Unfortunately for the Atlético Madrid striker, the ball bounced off his knee as he attempted the rebound, and trickled narrowly wide of the post. It was a difficult opportunity, but he will still feel that he should have done better.
Poland worked very hard in the second half, without ever hitting the heights of the first. The events of the match against the Irish clearly loomed large and they were at pains not to let lightning strike twice. It was noticeable that Lewandowski played the full 90 minutes, and put in a solid shift breaking up play, preventing Spain from enjoying any time on the ball whatsoever. The final few minutes passed not with a bang but a whimper, as the team from Eastern Europe closed out the game and Spain began to tire and look bereft of ideas. The introduction of Suso and Paco Alcácer did little to raise the energy levels in the final ten minutes.
The win puts Poland on 4 points from two matches and, as so often is the case, will have the press back home excitedly observing that their team goes into the final game unbeaten, and with a striker in Lewandowski who is in top form. They will hope to at least match their quarter final finish in the last European championship, and who knows how far they could go after that? Spain are still far from in crisis in the context of the group, and a win against the Irish on Wednesday will see them progress without issue to the knockouts. They will hope that the short attention span of the media will work to their advantage here, as the front pages will no doubt focus on what was a poor performance, rather than the wider issues of the last few days. But they will be all too aware of their substandard first half performances in both matches in this tournament, albeit not punished against the Swedes. Whether it is a question of attitude or tactics, this must be addressed if they are to stand any chance of bringing the European Championships’ trophy back to Madrid for the third time in four tournaments.
Man of the Match: Robert Lewandowski