Robert Lewandowski or Zlatan Ibrahimovic: One of the world’s most prominent football stars will bid farewell to the World Cup, perhaps for the last time in his career, following meeting Poland and Sweden on Tuesday in Chorzov in the final of the European qualifying play-off for the 2022 World Cup.
For Ibra, who will turn forty-first in October, before the Qatar World Cup scheduled between November 21 and December 18, it will of course be the last World Cup, largely for Lewandowski, 33, who is living the best days of his career with Bayern Munich.
Leva, the best player in the world according to FIFA in 2020 and 2021, will be an expected weapon for the Poles in front of their fans in Chorzov, in the south of the country.
After feeling pain in his knee last week, and following undergoing a rehabilitation program, he resumed training on Sunday with the “White Eagles” team.
In contrast, Zlatan does not appear in his form. After a strong injury, he returned to the bench without regaining his position in the main AC Milan squad since mid-January.
Thursday, he did not participate in the semi-final match in which Sweden beat the Czech Republic 1-0 following extra time, due to his suspension.
“Zlatan Weapon”
Zlatan sees things through his own eyes. He declared in 2018 that “the World Cup without Zlatan is not the World Cup.” He said last week that he would retire “when someone better than me comes along.”
But his coach, Jani Anderson, put things back in perspective. “Zlatan is a weapon for us, but he can’t play the whole game,” he said. He has a definite number of minutes on his legs, but it’s hard to say how many. He will not start the match, although he is likely to enter the match.”
The play-off final on this track bears a vengeful smell for the Poles, who have largely failed once morest Sweden in the last six matches. On June 23 in St. Petersburg, Lewandowski scored a double in the group stage of the European Cup, but Emil Forsberg led the Scandinavian team to a 3-2 victory following a late goal in substitute time from Victor Claison.
“You will be a protector”
Forsberg, who is used to facing Lewandowski in the German league, said of the match, “It will definitely be hot,” and continued, “We won last summer, so they have the desire for revenge. To give them another slap would be a big deal.”
The heat started before the kickoff Tuesday. Sweden did not want Poland to reach the final without playing, due to the exclusion of its opponent, Russia in the semi-finals, due to the war with Ukraine.
“The principle of playing in similar conditions should be applied, that is, to play and win two matches to qualify for the World Cup finals,” said Håkan Sjostrand, president of the Swedish Football Association.
And coach Anderson said that the decision of the International Federation (FIFA) “is not justified at all from a sporting point of view.”
And Poland played a friendly match once morest Scotland on Thursday, in which the coach rested his star Lewandowski. They drew 1-1 in Glasgow, with a penalty kick in the fourth minute of added time, while Sweden was playing an extended time once morest the Czech Republic.
An unknown confrontation between Poland and Sweden may reach the penalty shootout to decide the identity of the winner.