Poland defeated Albania 4:1!Poland defeated Albania 4:1! A great meeting by Robert Lewandowski. A goal scored also by a debutant

Polish footballers defeated Albania 4:1 (2:1) in the World Cup qualifying match in Warsaw. Robert Lewandowski, Adam Buksa, who debuts on the Polish team, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Karol Linetty scored the goals for the red and white team.

Poland - Albania 4:1 (2:1).

Goals: for Poland - Robert Lewandowski (12-headed), Adam Buksa (44-headed), Grzegorz Krychowiak (54), Karol Linetty (89); for Albania - Sokol Cikalleshi (25).

Thursday’s match was a major event as the national team returned to their national venue after a break of almost two years, mainly due to a pandemic. The last time Poland played here was in November 2019 against Slovenia in an ME qualifier, winning 3:2.

Paulo Sousa’s charges started the World Cup qualifiers with March matches against Hungary away (3:3), Andorra at home (3:0) and England away (1:2). Albania, on the other hand, beat Andorra 1:0 away, lost to England 0:2 at home and won 2:0 away against San Marino.

In spite of Albania’s greater achievements before this match, the Poles were the favourites. The guests were aware of this, but assured that they would not be scared.

Our motto is respect for everyone, but we are absolutely not afraid of anyone. We have to do our best

— said the Italian national coach of Albania Edoardo Reja.

Sousa, known for his courageous decisions, gave an opportunity to a debutant - Adam Buks - from the beginning of the match. And apparently he did not regret this decision.

Before the match, the Polish Football Association had already informed that the stadium would not be fully crowded. Eventually, the total attendance was 38,254 spectators.

Tłum. K.J.