Argentina beat a poor Poland side 2-0 to win Group C at the 2022 World Cup, but both sides advanced to the Round of 16.
Alexis Mac Allister scored his first international goal a minute into the second half and Julian Alvarez added a second as La Albiceleste won their last two group stage matches after a shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Here is how VAVEL rated both teams.
Poland
Saved his second penalty of the tournament, denying Messi. Didn't stretch enough to prevent Mac Allister's goal, but got his fingertips to the second goal and has had a wonderful tournament.
Matty Cash - 5
Had a good start and even got forward, but Poland began to sit deep shortly after, rendering him ineffective.
Kamil Glik - 6
Headed just wide and made key blocks on Messi and Alvarez. Did what he set out to do, but Poland couldn't take the pressure off enough.
Jakub Kiwior - 4
Wasn't really capable of playing to his markers well enough and while he did make a couple of clearances, Argentina players got past him far too easily.
Bartosz Bereszynski - 3
Had some success against Angel Di Maria, but got run at an awful lot. Never really played beyond the halfway line.
Przemyslaw Frankowski - 4
Was basically an extra man in front of defense and he ran a lot without seeing too much of the ball. Replaced at halftime.
Krystian Bielik - 2
His role is defensive midfielder, but he never showed it in this match. Tried to close down space from side to sidw, but failed. Argentina run and passed him with no issue at all.
Only better than Bielik by making a few challenges on the edge of the box and was shown a yellow card.
Piotr Zielinski - 4
Worked hard, did lots of running, but his passing was terrible and he only pushed up in support on the odd occasion.
Karol Swiderski - 4
As the supporting forward, he only played half the game, and made four tackles, took no shots, made no passes to set up shots for others.
Isolated up front and got no service. Didn't hold up play and never found himself in a place to score.
Michal Skoras - 4
Jakub Kaminski - 3
Damian Szymanski - 3
Artur Jedrzejczyk - 3
Krzysztof Piatek - N/A
Argentina
Emiilano Martinez - 6
Had almost nothing to do and was pretty much a spectator over the 90 minutes.
Nahuel Molina - 7
Made some surging runs from deep, but then stood high without getting back to his position. Sent in some good deliveries.
Cristian Romero - 7
Had a couple of early challenges to halt the few Poland attacks then spent the rest of the game cleaning up loose balls.
Nicolas Otamendi - 7
Got stuck into a couple of tackles and made some quick passes out of the back. Didn't seem happy out there.
Marcos Acuna - 8
Nearly opened the scoring in the first half with a sizzling shot and was value going forward on numerous occasions.
Rodrigo De Paul - 8
Was in charge of where Argentina would start their attacks as evidenced by his 150 touches. Poland's midfield never laid a hand on him.
Enzo Fernandez - 8
Finally made his first World Cup start and it showed as he ran rings around Poland's defense. Smart, quick passing.
Took the pressure off La Albiceleste with a well-placed finish into the bottom corner. Was excellent in the build-up play and nearly scored a second.
Lionel Messi - 8
Szczesny saved his penalty, which is poetic justice since it was largely undeserved. Was his usual self, being involved constantly, took people on and created for teammates.
Julian Alvarez - 9
Couldn't score on an early chance, but finished beautifully in the second half. Looks to be growing into the event and should retain his place here.
Angel Di Maria - 7
Stayed involved and ran well down the flanks, but never found the finishing product.
Leandro Paredes - 7
German Pezzella - N/A
Thiago Almada - N/A
