SAN FRANCISCO, November 19, (THEWILL) –Â Olympique Lyonnais forward Memphis Depay and Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum were the arrowheads as the Netherlands came from behind to beat Poland 2-1. Although they avoided defeat on the night, it was not enough to secure a return to the Nations League Finals.
Either of them could have made it with a win in this fixture at the Silesian Stadium and some assistance from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the other Group A1 fixture against Italy. But, the Azzurri’s 2-0 victory ensured it was Italy who finished top of the pile.
Poland Derby County midfielder Kamil Jozwiak’s stunning solo goal gave the hosts the lead inside five minutes. The midfielder surged away from Davy Klaassen down the left, cut inside of Daley Blind and stabbed in off the post.
Wijnaldum and Donyell Malen missed decent chances to draw level. Poland winger Przemyslaw Placheta also hared forward on the right and crashed a shot against the near post from an acute angle.
Kamil Glik and centre-back partner Jan Bednarek made important interventions to keep Wijnaldum and Depay at bay, but goalie Lukasz Fabianski was needed to stop Frenkie de Jong equalising before half-time.
Bayern forward Robert Lewandowski, who had been a doubt for the game with a muscular problem, was replaced by Krzysztof Piatek at half-time. The latter immediately became involved in a rapid break that ended with Placheta shanking wide.
Poland, intending to keep their lead, focused on defending and Fabianski did well to tip the Netherlands’ first shot on target of the second half from Depay away from the bottom-right corner.
However, the referee awarded the Netherlands a spot kick after Bednarek pushed Wijnaldum over in the area. Fabianski was beaten by Depay from 12 yards in the 77th minute.
Seven minutes after, Wijnaldum completed the turnaround himself. The midfielder flicked substitute Steven Berghuis’ corner home to give the Dutch all the points.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
