Group A Rivals Part 2: Poland

Hmm. Does anyone here want to advance to the knockout stage? Hard to say since all four Group A teams lost in international friendlies today. We’ll take a brief look at how each of Ecuador’s Group A rivals performed in today’s friendlies in turn. Part two: Poland.

Poland fell to the USA 0-1 in a March 1 friendly in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The Poles took it to the Americans pretty well in the first half, although the fireworks were few and far between for both sides. But thanks to Kasey Keller’s work between the posts, the half ended nil-nil.

The USA immediately stepped up their intensity in the second half and Clint Dempsey scored what would prove to be the game clincher on a 48th-minute winner. The last portion of the game was essentially played in a snowstorm, and the match ground to a halt.

Poland faced a FIFA top 10 team tonight, and put up a pretty good showing. Despite their ranking, I think the USA still gets short shrift among European sides. Could Poland and Ecuador sneak out of Group A? Would that be the biggest shock the tournament? Maybe and yep.