How Poland Held England to a 1-1 Draw as Germany Beat Iceland 4-0
England faced one of their toughest matches in the World Cup qualifiers against Poland. This was the sixth game of their group stage. England went into the game with an upper hand after winning the first five matches. Gareth Southgate made a total change in the team that faced Andorra. He recalled his first team players because Poland is a very strong team.
Jordan Pickford took his position back in the goalpost from Sam Johnstone. The four first team defenders were also recalled. They are Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, John Stones and Kyle Walker. Declan Rice and Kalvin Philips were played in the midfield again. The striking force had Jack Grealish, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane. The Manager used a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Paulo Sousa also named a very strong squad with Wojciech Szczesny in the goal post. The defence had Pawel Dawidowicz, Kamil Glik and Jan Bednarek. The midfield was packed with Jozwiak, Karol Linetty, Krychowiak, Moder and Puchaz. The striking force had Adam Buksa and Robert Lewandowski. The Manager used a 3-5-2 formation which delivered the results that he wanted.
The two teams started the first half on a very high note and it was evident that they all wanted to get a win in that game. The Poland players were more lethal and they are the ones who were constantly attacking England. The unfortunate thing is that there is no goal that was scored. The first half ended 0-0.
The second half also started on a very high note. The Manager of Poland made some changes in order to register good results. He substituted Adam Buksa and replaced him with Karol Swiderski. He also replaced Grzegorz Krychowiak with Damian Szymanski Kamil Glik with Michal Helik, Kamil Jozwiak with Przemyslaw Frankowski and Tymoteusz Puchacz with Maciej Rybus.
Kyle Walker gave Harry Kane a brilliant pass and the England captain scored the opening goal of the game. The team was destined to glory but their hopes diminished after Robert Lewandowski gave Damian Szymanski a good pass that led to the equalizer. This made the Poland players and supporters very happy because England is a very tough team. Gareth Southgate did not make any changes in his squad despite the fact that he had very good players on the bench. The game ended 1-1 and all the two teams got one point each. England is still leading that group and it is very evident that it will automatically qualify for the World Cup competitions.
On the other hand, Iceland hosted Germany in their sixth game of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Hans Dieter Flick named a very strong squad for that encounter. Manuel Neuer maintained his position in the goalpost. The defence had Thilo Kehrer, Antonio Rudiger, Niklas Suele and Jonas Hofmann. The midfield had Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich. The striking department had Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan, Serge Gnabry and Timo Werner.
Arnar Vidarsson who is the Manager of Iceland also named his squad with Hannes Thor Halldorsson in the goalpost. Saevarsson, Bjarnason, Fjoluson and Skulason in the defence. His midfield had Gudmunds, Bjarnason, Palsson, Johanness and Helgaso. The forward line had Albert Gudmundsson. The game started on a very high note and the German players proved that they wanted nothing but a win in that game.
Leroy Sane gave Serge Gnabry a brilliant pass and he scored the first goal just after four minutes. Moments later, Antonio Rudiger added the second goal after being assisted by Joshua Kimmich. The first half ended 2-0 in favor of Germany. The Manager made two quick substitutions at the start of the second half. He removed Serge Gnabry and replaced him with Kai Havertz. He also substituted Jonas Hofmann and replaced him with Lukas Klostermann. They also played very well and made sure that the team got all the points.
Leon Goretzka gave Leroy Sane another good pass and the player scored the third goal for Germany. Leon Goretzka also scored a goal but it was ruled out. The Manager went ahead to make more changes, he also substituted Nilkas Suele and replaced him with Robin Gosens, Leroy Sane was also rested and his place was taken by Jamal Musiala. Leon Goretzka also paved way for Folarin Wirtz.
The German players did not stop scoring at that point. Kai Havertz who was brought in the second half set up a good pass for Timo Werner and he scored the fourth goal. This was a very beautiful goal because it was assisted and scored by two Chelsea players. It was a good night for the Blues because Antonio Rudiger also scored in the same game. The three players will now head back to Stamford Bridge with their heads up.
The Manager of Iceland also made a couple of changes in order to get back to the game. He removed Johannesson and replaced him with Arnor Sirgurdsson, Berg Gudmundsson with Jon Thorsteinsson, Albert Gudmundsson with Andri Gudjohnson and Victor Palsson with Fannar Baldursson. The players did not manage to get anything against Germany because the team was too hot for them. The game ended 4-0 in favor of Germany and it got all the three ponts.
The German team is now a very strong opponent in that group. The team is in position one with a total of 15 points. The Nation that is closely following Germany is Armenia which is in the second position with 11 points. Romania is in the third position with 10 points. North Macedonia is in position four with 9 points. Iceland lies in position five with only four points. Liechtenstein is in position six with only 1 point.
Only two teams can qualify from one group. It is very evident that Germany may qualify as the group leaders. The second position is still up for grabs and Armenia, Romania and North Macedonia still have a very high chance of getting the second position. This will now depend on how the Nations will play their remaining matches, the Nation that will win all the matches will qualify for the World Cup competitions.
