Qatar 2022: Its Messi against Lewandowski as Argentina face Poland in must-win match

Amid a barrage of questions about how Poland would try to keep Lionel Messi at bay in their decider Wednesday night, Czeslaw Michniewicz laughed when someone pointed out that his side were actually on top of a very tight group C and said: “I am really happy you noticed.”

The Poland head coach, who was derided before the tournament for being too negative, was in sparkling form in comparing the movement of the Argentina talisman to the slaloming skills of the Italian skier Alberto Tomba.

The 52-year-old was also at pains to state that the game was about much more than Messi v Robert Lewandowski, two greats who have excelled for so long in their glittering careers. “It is not only a match between Robert and Leo,” Michniewicz insisted. “It is not tennis. It is not one on one. It is not about them serving as in tennis. This does not happen in football.

 “Robert needs his team members, same as Leo. We can count on these great strikers, but they won’t win it individually. The team needs to be strong.

“Leo is like Alberto Tomba on the slope. He is able to avoid everyone like Tomba. He is able to avoid everyone and get around everyone. I need to get my players to make it difficult for Messi. If you make it easy, he will score. One player will not stop Messi, you need your team to do it.

Michniewicz saw for himself the extent to which Argentina fans idolise Messi when he watched the South American side beat Mexico 2-0 at the Lusail Stadium on Saturday.

“I count on Robert,” he said. “I know all Argentina counts on Messi. I have seen fantastic cheering of the Argentina fans. For one boy it was so much when their goal was scored — he knew I was from Poland — he was just so happy about the goal that he hugged me as if I was his father.”

Poland’s lead at the top of their group is a slender one — only one point separates Poland, Argentina and Saudi Arabia going into the final group games, with much expectation resting on the shoulders of Lewandowski and Messi.

The Barcelona striker cried after scoring in Poland’s victory against Saudi Arabia on Saturday, his first goal at a World Cup. Later that day the Paris Saint-Germain forward scored his side’s crucial opening goal in the victory against Mexico and then roared in celebration.

Both men know they are reaching the end of the road and this is likely to be their last chance to lead their country to triumph at a World Cup finals.

Messi has scored 93 goals for Argentina in 167 games since making his debut in 2005 — 13 of which have come this year — and Lewandowski has 77 from 136 appearances. However, despite their impressive records, Messi has not won the World Cup and Lewandowski has never reached the knockout stage.

While Michniewicz has no doubt formulated plans to shackle Messi, the task of keeping Lewandowski quiet will fall to Lisandro Martínez.

“First of all we have to be very, very well organised so they don’t get us on the counterattack,” he said. “We know Lewandowski moves so well, he is very dynamic, he is trying to create goalscoring chances, we have to stay focused and be solid in our defence. He is a top player, but we have to trust ourselves.

 “We have to remain calm and not overload ourselves with too much pressure. It is the first time for some of us in a World Cup. It is a responsibility. We know how important it is to represent the national team of Argentina and wear this shirt.”

Lionel Scaloni, the Argentina head coach, refused to say whether Lewandowski could be compared to Messi after such a glittering career.

“First of all he [Lewandowski] is a top player, it is a privilege and a pleasure to see him up close,” he said. “He is a great player. The question is a bit tricky. Is he at the same level as Messi? You just have to enjoy watching such a good player. Why compare one player with the other one? It is not helpful.”

When asked how to stop Messi, Michniewicz laughed once more. “It is a very good question,” he replied. “I think all the world has been thinking about it for years and he has scored dozens of goals and so many assists, so I don’t think we are ever going to find out a final answer to it.

“He has said it is his last tournament so he will be super mobilised and very ambitious, but so are we.”