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Poland will look to get their first win as they face off with Saudi Arabia, who is coming off the biggest upset in recent memory. It's time for more football action with our World Cup odds series as we make a Poland-Saudi Arabia prediction and pick.
Poland is coming off a scoreless draw with Mexico. Now, they look to learn from the mistakes of that match and execute in this showdown with the Saudis. Poland connected on two shots while allowing four. Additionally, their pass accuracy was only 71 percent compared to 84 from Mexico. Poland only had a 39 percent possession rate and was a pitiful 35 percent on tackle success. Fortunately, their goalkeeper made four saves that helped keep the game scoreless. Poland showed great discipline with no offsides calls and one yellow card by Przemyslaw Frankowski.
Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina 2-1, shocking the world all over. Initially, things looked bad as Argentina raced to a 1-0 lead. But the Saudis hung in there and did not allow anything else. Then, Saleh Al Shehri maneuvered around the defender in the box, squaring a kick in the bottom right corner to tie it up in the 48th minute. Saudi Arabia struck again five minutes later when Salem Al Dawsari cut inside and flung a kick into the far-right corner over the fingertips of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to give them the lead and game-winning goal.
Saudi Arabia won despite being outshot 15-3, including 6-3 on targets. Also, they only converted 68 percent of their passes and held a 31 percent possession rate. Saudi Arabia only had a 39 percent tackle success rate. However, their great goaltending played a difference as goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais made five saves. The Saudis must be careful, as they amassed six yellow cards in this matchup. Significantly, Al Owais, Nawaf Al Akid, Salem Al Dawsari, Ali Al Bulayhi, and Abdulelah Al Malki all earned yellow card infractions and must play more carefully.
Here are the Poland-Saudi Arabia World Cup odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
World Cup Odds: Poland-Saudi Arabia Odds
Poland: -135
Saudi Arabia: +410
Draw: +260
Over 2.5 Goals: +116
Under 2.5 Goals: -142
Why Poland Will Beat Saudi Arabia
Poland has the talent to win this matchup. Conversely, they must execute better. Robert Lewandowski connected on one shot on goal with 22 passes. Additionally, midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak made 28 passes successfully, while Jakub Kaminski had one shot on goal and 16 passes. Piotr Zielinski had 22 passes. Likewise, the defense played well. Kamil Glik had six successful clears and an interception, while Bartosz Bereszynski had three clears. Also, Matty Cash had four successful clears and an interception, while Jakub Kiwior had five clears and two interceptions. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was spectacular with four saves.
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Poland did its job in preventing Mexico from scoring. However, they played back on its heels for most of the game. They will face an opponent who employed a similar strategy but with more success. Can Poland change things up and find a way to score some goals?
Poland will beat Saudi Arabia if its offense can make more successful passes and set itself up for greater success. Likewise, the defense must continue to play stout and not allow the Saudis to have any room to move.
Why Saudi Arabia Will Beat Poland
Saudi Arabia played not to lose against Argentina, and it worked. However, this strategy is not a good long-term plan and could hurt them in the end. Al Shehri did his part with a goal and 16 passes. Moreover, Al Dawsari had a goal with 20 passes. Mohammed Kanno had 37 passes, while Al Malki added 38. Meanwhile, Feras Al Brikan had an assist with 12 passes.
Al Bulayhi led the defense for the Saudis and had one clear, while teammate Hassan Tambakti had three successful clears. Moreover, Saud Abdulhamid had two clears, while Yasir Al Shahrani cleared the ball six times. Al Owais was elite with five saves.
The Saudis did enough to win this game. However, the style is not sustainable, and the offense needs to do more to relieve the pressure off Al Owais. The defense cannot play on its heels the entire match and expect to win.
Saudi Arabia will beat Poland if it can establish an offense fast. Additionally, they cannot play back and expect to score.
Final Poland-Saudi Arabia Prediction & Pick
These are the two worst teams in their group, despite the opening-match win from Saudi Arabia. Thus, expect the Saudis to fall back down to Earth and for Poland to execute better than they did in the opener. Poland is the pick here, and they may win this match 1-0, which might be all they need.
Final Poland-Saudi Arabia Prediction & Pick: Poland: -135
