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Football: Poland draw 1-1 with England at home in World Cup qualifier

08.09.2021 23:15
Poland's national football team drew 1-1 with England in its sixth 2022 World Cup qualifier in Warsaw on Wednesday.
Substitute midfielder Damian Szymański scores the equalizer for Poland against England on Wednesday night.
Substitute midfielder Damian Szymański scores the equalizer for Poland against England on Wednesday night.Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak

Captain Harry Kane put England 1-0 up in the 72nd minute of the game at the Polish capital's National Stadium, but Damian Szymański equalized from a header two minutes into stoppage time after being set up by Robert Lewandowski.

The late equalizer ended England's perfect record, but they remain in pole position on the road to next year's World Cup in Qatar.

The Poles, under their Portuguese manager Paulo Sousa, went into the match missing several key players ruled out by injuries, among them Napoli midfielder Piotr Zieliński.

Poland are ranked 27th worldwide by football's governing body FIFA, while England are No. 4 in the FIFA table.

The Polish team, captained by Lewandowski, FIFA's world player of the year for 2020, on Sunday demolished underdogs San Marino 7-1 in its previous 2022 World Cup qualifier.

After six rounds of fixtures, Poland are in third place in their qualifying Group I, behind England and Albania, with 11 points and a plus-11 goal differential.

The Poles opened their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-3 away draw with Hungary in Budapest on March 25.

The Polish team beat Andorra 3-0 in its second World Cup qualifier at home on March 28.

Poland lost 1-2 to England in their third 2022 World Cup qualifier in London on March 31. They beat Albania 4-1 at the National Stadium in Warsaw in their fourth 2022 World Cup qualifier on September 2.

The qualification stage for the 2022 World Cup runs until November 2021, while the tournament will be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022.

(gs)

Source: PAP