Lewa-Messi secret: Robert Lewandowski has less trouble sharing with the outside world what he discussed with Lionel Messi afterwards.
Messi had refused to elaborate on the content of his chat with Lewandowski after their confrontation at the World Cup. “They taught me that whatever happens on the pitch stays on the pitch. Things we say to each other in private never come true because of me.”
Lewandowski had fewer problems with BILD in sharing the material for discussion. “We talked a bit, had some fun,” said the Polish captain. “I told Messi that I played more defensively than usual. But that’s what a team sometimes needs.”
During the match, the striker even got into a direct duel with Messi. “You rarely see me as a defensive midfielder. But I knew I had to help my team.”
Poland limited itself to defending in the final phase, knowing that a 2-0 defeat against Argentina was enough given the score between Mexico and Saudi Arabia. “We knew in the last 10 minutes that the yellow cards would probably be decisive,” said Lewandowski. “We heard that Mexico was only leading 2-0, we knew then that we had to believe in ourselves. But also that we had to play carefully and not get a yellow card. When Saudi Arabia scored, we knew luck was on our side.”
Striker Robert Lewandowski also knows that France will start as a favourite on Sunday. “We really have to come out better if we want to get France into trouble. We have to offer more offensively. They have an excellent team, but we also saw from their match against Tunisia that anything is possible.”
In another related to a Pole and a PSG player, Szczesny was the celebrated man after the lost match against Argentina. Not only did he save a penalty from Lionel Messi, but he also limited the damage so that Poland survived the group stage with their heels over the ditch. A confrontation with France on Sunday afternoon is the result of his exploits.
“They are the big favourites, they have one of the best teams in the world,” Szczesny knows Poland’s place for Sunday’s game. Kylian Mbappé is one of France’s greatest powerhouses. The Polish goalie of Juventus knows who holds the key to stop this French asset. “That’s me,” he said with a smile.
