During their crucial final World Cup group game against Argentina, Poland midfielder Piotr Zielinski spoke to a newspaper about the coaching group’s instructions.
Poland’s players started to sweat even as the final news that Mexico had defeated Saudi Arabia and couldn’t afford to concede to Argentina broke. Leo Messi was their primary concern. Piotr Zielinski, a midfielder, told La Gazzetta dello Sport from the dugout specifics of the instructions from their coaching group.
The wait was difficult. From the substitute bench, they warned us not to get a yellow card or score another goal, which could determine our classification. But what can be done in the future with Messi? Fortunately, we were able to qualify for the round of 16 because we avoided fouling him and receiving yellow cards,” Zielinski told the newspaper.
He claims that Zielinkski even considered going up to a few Argentine players he knows personally and telling them to take it easy. “At one point I wanted to request a slowdown from the Argentines I knew from the Italian league. They were definitely already in first place,” he stated.
Zielinkski confessed, “But I held back because it would be unsportsmanlike and I don’t like situations like that.”
On Saturday, Argentina, who won Group C, will play Australia, and on Sunday, Poland will play France. Lionel Scaloni, the Argentine coach, has already voiced his displeasure with the schedule.
“I think it’s crazy to play in nearly two days when we’re the best team in the group. Scaloni told the media after their last game, which ended just before midnight, that he could not comprehend it.